WSS EmpowerED - 'Community-Led Climate Solutions: Empowering Youth for Change' with Linda Abeja

Linda Abeja is a youth and adolescent development strategist from Uganda. Linda represents Amariatek Foundation, an organization she founded to address the challenges of climate change through community-led initiatives, particularly by empowering Ugandan youth.

Linda begins by introducing Uganda, highlighting its natural beauty and biodiversity, including the source of the River Nile and its mountain gorillas. However, she contrasts this with the harsh realities of climate change that Uganda faces, such as unpredictable weather patterns, rising temperatures, and the devastating effects on agriculture, which is the backbone of Uganda’s economy. She emphasizes that 80% of Ugandans depend on agriculture, making them particularly vulnerable to climate disruptions.

Abeja then discusses the severe impacts of climate change on Uganda’s population, including food scarcity, water shortages, and health crises like the increase in malaria cases. She also touches on deforestation and poor waste management as significant contributors to the country’s environmental challenges. Despite these issues, Linda highlights the resilience and innovative spirit of Ugandan youth, who are actively developing and implementing climate solutions within their communities.

She shares several examples of youth-led initiatives supported by Amariatek Foundation, such as transforming plastic waste into bricks and fashion items, creating solar concentrators for cooking, and developing sustainable agriculture practices. Through these projects, young people are not only combating climate change but also creating employment opportunities and fostering a sense of community ownership.

Linda concludes by emphasizing the importance of collaboration and support for these youth-led efforts, urging viewers to partner with Amariatek Foundation to scale these initiatives and further empower the next generation of climate leaders in Uganda.

A note from WSS:
Loving unity and empowerment is a conscious choice, it takes hard work, it takes commitment, it takes eternal vigilance to walk in another’s shoes, every day, and the requisite discipline to continue to make this same choice, day after day, rather than to seek the comfort of tribal dynamics or of distraction from the pain of others.

All are welcome in this process to learn and collaborate on a new way of being with each other through conscious empowerment and radical caring.

Disclaimer:
These conversations are intended to provide a space for creative expression of all viewpoints. The perspectives expressed in these interviews may not reflect those of WSS or its members.

It is our mission to listen to the perspectives of all people, learn from them and integrate them into a comprehensive understanding for the purpose of generating synthesized solutions to the climate crisis.

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00:06 Ugandan youth leading community climate initiatives
02:36 Climate change impact on Uganda's beauty
07:20 Youth unemployment and climate crisis in Uganda
09:40 Climate change has disrupted rain patterns and impacted agriculture.
14:33 Challenges of water scarcity, food production, and climate change impacting communities.
16:55 Climate change and deforestation leading to food insecurity in Uganda
21:08 Empowering rural communities through community-led solutions
23:15 Using plastics to create interlocking bricks for eco-friendly construction.
27:30 Developing waterproof backpack for school students to ensure safety during rainy days
29:33 Amari Tech empowers youth for community-led climate solutions.
33:43 Challenges faced in implementing innovations in local communities
35:46 Engage with others to support our cause