By Antony Fredrick Ogolla
I believe that young people are the major stakeholders when it comes to environmental concerns because the future belongs to us and our children. With this in mind then the question is: What kind of environment do we want our children to live in? If we are in a position to answer this then I think we are home and dry.
Over the years our environment has been handled carelessly by human activities and the climate change impact facing us today is a reflection of our past actions. What we face today in the world could have been avoided if all followed God’s intention at the creation for man to care for creation as opposed to exploiting the earth.
As a young person change starts with me and I believe that it is time for us to take individual responsibility and make a difference in the world. There no other options of in-action, we have to ACT failure of which the future generations will hold us accountable and squarely responsible for the environmental harm already caused.
An African saying among the Kikuyu community in Kenya may act as a lesson for all. It says-“Take care of the environment because you did not inherit it from your parents but you borrowed it from your children”.
Even as we gather as young people in Durban I would emphasize all the global youths worldwide to embrace a culture of sustainable justice for all.
