Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten)Biafra, Mbarara, Western Uganda.
OUR next generation has not only petitioned leaders to do whatever it takes and fight against climate change but has also pulled together and donated US$21,000 (sh35.7m) towards the fight.
As part of the ‘Paint for the Planet’ event organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), paintings of 26 children from around the world were auctioned in an exhibition held on October 25, 2008 at New York’s Harvard Club with an aim of raising money for children in areas affected by climate-related disasters.
Paint for the Planet is the launch pad for the ‘Unite to Combat Climate Change’ campaign to support the call for a definitive agreement at the climate change talks to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.
Reflecting an all-new UNEP-commissioned survey, 90% of young people across the globe say, world leaders should do “whatever it takes” to tackle climate change. All the paintings selected from around 200,000 entries of International Children’s Painting Competition were auctioned, with two most sought-after paintings by a 14-year-old Brit Charlotte Sullivan and a 13-year-old American Renee Wang fetched US$2,200 each.
Charlotte alongside Katherine Liu, 9, from Saratoga (California); Gabrielle Medovoy, 13, from Glenview (Illinois); Guy Jayce Nindorera, 14, from Burundi; Daniela Melendez, 14, from Colombia, and Andrew Bartolo, 15, from Malta - traveled to New York to see their paintings auctioned.
Guy Jayce Nindorera from Burundi said, his painting was inspired by the situation in his country but also by reading various articles around the world, “where people are dying of hunger and other catastrophes such as the Tsunami, floods and deserts - caused by human actions. As a result human beings become victims of their own interventions.”
Young people in South Africa, the United States and Brazil are particularly critical of world leader’s efforts to address climate change. Seven in ten or more across these three countries say world leaders are not doing enough (South Africa, 82%; the United States, 79%; Brazil, 73%). In most countries except India, children (Brazil, 89%; South Africa, 81%; Russia, 75%; the United States, 61%) say, “It is necessary to take major steps starting very soon!”
UNEP’s Rajinder Sian’s press release of October 26, 2008 says four in five environmental-friendly youth surveyed believe they can make a difference on climate for our future (89%); however, the majority also say they need more information about what they can do to tackle climate change (84%). And children in Uganda are no exception.
I hope this comes as a giant lesson to our leaders – be it political, religious or traditional, NGOs, institutions, organisations and individuals. Amongst your groups, carry out a survey on: ‘must we - you and me – contribute towards the fight against climate change?’
Our national environmental bodies in Uganda: National environmental management authority (NEMA), NatureUganda, Uganda wildlife authority (UWA), National forestry authority and others - should emulate this noble campaign.
Do Ugandans know that environmental degradation causes climate change? Glacier on Mount Rwenzori, our source of water, is melting! Rivers shall ultimately dry. According to the World Resources Institute, 100 species become extinct every day due to tropical deforestation! Rainforests contain more than half of all living things, and there are many undiscovered species that have succumbed to extinction. Out of 10 to 13 million species on Earth, biologists estimate that 27,000 species become extinct each year!
As sharp as death, truth shall always be. Children, who often speak the truth, have indeed spoken the truth – after seeing, reading, hearing and internalising the reality about the Earth and its climate. Unlike their fore generation - the elderly - who have ‘blocked their ears with grasses’ of negligence, corruption, gluttony, recklessness and lack of patriotism! What a challenge!
Ends.
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