For the past few years, climate change has been on the rise, negatively affecting various countries in Africa including Zimbabwe. As part of a community decided to embark on a climate mitigation action project which is aimed at reducing the effects of climate change in the communities they live. INERELA+ Zimbabwe youth are maximizing the skills gained during a training workshop on Life Skills Relationships and Climate Justice organized by the INERELA+ Secretariat in October 2024. It is through these skills that the youth-targeted notable climate-vulnerable peri-urban areas such as Ruwa among many educating their peers on the dangers of climate change. INERELA+ Zimbabwe Youth Champions led by Tariro Mudhachi and Steven Chiswa, further stressed the importance of being a responsible youth of the community and that it was important to take mitigatory measures as youths to fight against climate change as well as global warming. The Champions with their peers embarked on showcasing methods and practices that youths can implement to help reduce climate change in Zimbabwe. This included among other practices planting trees.
The team started at Terrency Cecil Hardy High School to plant trees using recycled material. Emphasis was on the need for youth to utilize recycled material like plastic bottles as tree pots, again recycling and use of recycled material is a climate change mitigation measure on its own. In the process of planting trees, INERELA+ Zimbabwe youth managed to partner with Mr Chifetete who availed some critical resources and a piece of land to plant more tree species in support of the project. INERELA+ Zimbabwe youth are part of the WhatsApp group that was created during the Life Skills and Relationships and Climate Justice workshop and have already shared these developments with their peers in the Region as a way of encouraging them to act, engage, and challenge each other towards rolling out similar projects that benefit and shield their communities from severe effects of climate change. Their slogan “Climate change is a reality, let us act now” is expected to spread among their peers, communities, and corridors of government through engagements on WhatsApp groups, INERELA+ Country Network Facebook pages, websites, and many other platforms.