Re-greening project excites refugee camp administration

Re-greening project excites refugee camp administration
Steve Ephraem

Excitement has gripped the Tongogara Refugee Camp administration as a re-greening project is set to take off tomorrow (28 November 2022).

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

RCCA is a youth-led project that facilitates a Child-Youth participation approach to climate and environmental action at the camp while 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, advocacy for policy change in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The two organisations shall plant trees and interact with learners at Tongogara Primary School on Monday 28 November 2022. This shall be followed by tree planting at Transformation Innovation Hub on Thursday 1 December 2022.

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

Speaking to this publication, the camp administrator Johannes 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 its 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 Mr Mhlanga.