“Don’t Cut What You Didn’t Plant”

By Steve Ephraem

A Chipinge based organisation, Refugee Child’s Coalition for Climate Action (RCCA) has called on people not to cut trees that one didn’t plant. The organisation made this challenge during a training workshop which was held at Tongogara Refugee Camp on 7 July 2023. The workshop focused on the need for people to take climate action.

Refugee Child’s Coalition for Climate Action is a refugee youth-led project that facilitates a Child-Youth participation approach to climate and environmental action at Tongogara Refugee Camp, Zimbabwe.

During the training workshop, presentations were made on issues such as how children can be actively involved in climate justice, how climate is impacting people on gender issues, and an action plan on climate action for Tongogara Refugee Camp and its host communities.

“Climate induced disasters which are affecting us today are being caused by human activities which happen almost ten years ago. When the topic of climate change was introduced, people didn’t take it serious. If we had taken appropriate action then, climate change would have been reduced.

“Now I challenge everyone in the country to be climate conscious. If you know that you want to cut a tree in ten years, plant it today. Don’t cut a tree that you didn’t plant. That way, we would be doing justice to the climate,” said Elie Nsala, a board member of RCCA.

Tongogara Refugee Camp has been affected by natural disasters which include droughts, heat waves and flooding.

The need for fuel wood and brick moulding inside and outside the camp has seen people from within Tongogara camp and those from host communities put much pressure on woodlots surrounding the refugee camp. RCCA is taking a leading role in re-greening Tongogara Refugee Camp and host communities.