Female student activists, members of an organisation called ENACTUS, are on the move for community awareness and action on climate change. ENACTUS, an international non-profit student organisation, present in over 1 600 universities, works with students, faculty advisors and business leaders, to harness the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world for communities. Student teams develop outreach projects in accordance with the triple bottom line – -P- for Planet, People and Profit and access resources to improve the quality of life and standard of living of people in need. The research captures the reflections of six female students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville, Edgewood and Pietermaritzburg campuses in South Africa who were involved in ENACTUS climate change initiatives in Umlazi, Wentworth and Umkhumbane where community partnerships were developed for climate change mitigation. In Ukhumbane, an informal settlement, students initiated a process with unemployed women to develop a recycling cooperative and to expand sustainable livelihoods from recycling. In Wentworth, a community experiencing environmental degradation and pollution in South Durban, students led a process to facilitate a programme of tree planting by school learners to reduce pollution and carbon emissions, and in nearby Umlazi, a walk was held to mobilise the community around the problems of climate change. The Focus uses a theoretical framework of reflective empowerment practice to understand student narratives on perceptions of the three projects. Students’ narratives reveal the interface between the students’ awareness of the meanings of climate change, its mediation through community exposure and the importance of gender equality and women’s activism in climate change mitigation.
