The people behind restoration: Co-creating impact with mentorship

When we speak of land restoration, we often speak of soil, water and climate resilience. But what if we looked beyond the land to the humans behind it? The stories, relationships and unseen shifts that root transformation run deeper than any seedling we plant ever could. 

This is the story of a restoration journey — not just of restoring the earth, but of becoming.

My name is Sydner Kemunto, and I’m a GLF 2025 Drylands Restoration Steward working in Kaani, a dry, arid region in Kenya. In Kaani desertification, land injustice and climate vulnerability converge and I’m commited to making a difference by working with Kijani Mtaani – a youth-led climate justice initiative. 

I don’t walk this journey alone. Alongside me are two incredible mentors, Christine Magaju and Claudine Kamanzi, whose wisdom, care and guidance have helped shape not just my project but the person I’m becoming.

At the beginning, our work with Kijani Mtaani aimed to deliver regenerative agriculture training to a group of young smallholder farmers in Kaani. Most of them are young mothers, many of them single, navigating harsh land and even harsher realities. But as we prepared to implement the trainings, we encountered a deeper need for land justice. 

Many of the young women we were working with did not have secure access to the land they were expected to cultivate. They were vulnerable to being displaced by family disputes, gender-based violence and local customs that denied them rightful claim. Our plans shifted. We postponed the training and instead focused on land rights education.

This pivot was not a step back – it was a step inward. During this moment Christine’s mentorship was especially grounding. In our conversations, she reminded me that “land tenure and land rights are a big influence when it comes to farmers investing in agricultural practices.” Her words echoed what we were witnessing on the ground. Without security, there is no sustainability. Her questions pushed me to go deeper: What are we really restoring?

Claudine, a former GLF Drylands Restoration Steward, brought a different kind of wisdom: the lived experience of having walked this path. Her reflections helped me hold space for uncertainty, for evolution. “Mentorship,” she said, “is about sharing knowledge. It is about connection, trust and learning from each other across generations.”

In one of our check-ins, I asked each of my mentors to reflect on this journey.

Christine shared that what stands out to her most about Kaani is the deep knowledge and lived experience of the communities, the land’s diversity and the powerful aspirations of the youth. For her, mentorship is everything — a way to learn from those who’ve come before us and build on their wisdom, rather than reinventing the wheel.

Claudine imagined a future shaped by a more resilient and informed generation of restoration leaders across Africa and the world.

Their answers reminded me that impact is not always immediate. Sometimes, it is a soft, steady unfolding. Like the first shoot after a season of drought.

I’ve come to believe that mentorship is itself a form of restoration. It restores belief, it restores focus and it restores the parts of ourselves that sometimes feel lost in the weight of this work. With Christine and Claudine, I have learned how to lead with clarity and compassion.

The work of Kijani Mtaani is still unfolding. We expect to roll out our regenerative agriculture training in the coming months. But even now, I see how much has already taken root. I am no longer afraid of slow growth. Because with mentorship, even the quiet moments of doubt, pause, or slow progress become fertile — full of learning, grounding, and unseen growth.

To everyone restoring land, lives and legacies — may you find your mentors. And may you someday become a mentor too.