Mission

Our mission is to alleviate poverty and reduce ecological damage by teaching marginalized people living in rural areas to enhance their resilience, incomes, and living standards through agriculture, skills development, and new business ventures.

Vision

To bring Nigeria and African communities out of poverty while creating livelihoods and preventing further land damage and food insecurity at the same time.

Rural Watch Africa Initiative (RUWAI) connects the dots of poverty, resource depletion, and the climate crisis to promote ecological land practices and create sustainable livelihoods in the Western African nation of Nigeria.

Since 2016, RUWAI’s leadership team—including executive director Uche Isieke, staff and volunteers, and an expert advisory council from around the world—has implemented scientific and indigenous knowledge on the ground to create genuine and lasting change.

We know that you cannot address environmental issues like land degradation and climate crisis without acknowledging the root causes.

RUWAI proffers nature-based solutions to equip local people to overcome poverty and drive sustainable rural development.

Uche Isieke founded RUWAI in 2016 to be a voice for the unheard and his underserved community and to lift them from the doldrums of generation poverty and resource depletion. Uche and his team are creating opportunities and access to resources that didn’t exist before, shattering the cycle of poverty for marginalized families and communities in rural Nigeria.

The work that Uche envisioned is more than just a handout; it is about developing people to create their own future. Through positive engagement, education, and job training, his goal is to ensure people have the skills to solve their problems and build a better life for themselves and their families.

Through his inspirational leadership, Uche has built a people-oriented organization with global membership on four continents, comprised of various experts, including ambassadors making change possible.

RUWAI is a Civil Society Organization(CSO) with accredited status with the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification -UNCCD.

Uche’s work is an inspiration, making a real difference in the lives of people in rural Nigeria.