Tree planting excites refugee camp administrator

BY STEVE EPHRAEM

EXCITEMENT gripped Tongogara Refugee Camp administration as a re-greening project took off in the camp.

Tongogara Refugee Camp Administrator, Mr Johanne Mhlanga, was excited by efforts to address issues of climate change which are spearheaded by the Refugee Child’s Coalition for Climate Action (RCCA) in collaboration with the Green Institute.

RCCA is a youth-led project that facilitates a child-youth participation approach to climate and environmental action at the camp.

The Green Institute develops adaptation strategies that can reduce and mitigate the diverse and complex impacts of climate change through areas such as engaging communities on climate resilience, lobbying, and advocacy for policy change in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The two organisations planted trees and interacted with learners at Tongogara Primary School on Monday, 28 November 2022. This was followed by tree planting at the Transformation Innovation Hub on Thursday, 1 December 2022.

Thirdly, the organisations planted trees at the Zimbabwe Republic Police base in the camp on Saturday, 3 December 2022.

Speaking to this publication, the Camp Administrator, Mr Johanne Mhlanga, said that the whole project excites stakeholders.

“I am excited by the new partnership in the fight against climate change. We are not just planting trees for the purposes of their foliage, but we are building a nexus between tree planting and food and nutrition security.

“That’s the whole purpose of planting fruit trees. Suffice to mention that this project is also exciting because it’s an initiative of the youth. They are amplifying the call for climate action by being practical.

“More importantly, youth are the custodians and vanguards of the future, hence they are taking climate action to another level in order to preserve the environment and to create a future fit for human habitation,” said the Camp Administrator.