Written by: Admin_SheEvo
Since I can remember, I’ve lived in my village in West Africa. It’s a place where the sun shines strongly and there are lots of living things on the land. But recently, something has changed. Climate change is having an effect on our town, and it is changing the way we live.
The weather was the first thing that stood out to me. The rains used to come at the same time every year, giving our crops and the land what they needed to grow. But now, it rains late or sometimes doesn’t rain at all. Our farmers have a hard time growing enough food, so hunger is always with us.
The heat is also too much to handle. The hot sun is always beating down on us, making it hard to work or even go outside. Our fields, which used to be green and full, are now dry and empty, and the rivers, which used to flow easily, are now just trickles.
Our village has become more likely to be hit by natural disasters as the weather has changed. Floods and storms are happening more and more often, causing damage to our homes and ways of making a living. We lose our crops, our things, and sometimes even people we care about. Rebuilding becomes a hard job, and our strength is put to the test over and over again.
But in spite of these problems, I have seen how strong our group is. We get together to help each other. We share what little we have and find ways to make do with what we have. We learn new ways to farm, adopt habits that are good for the environment, and look for ways to protect our environment.
Elders and leaders in our town work hard to get the word out about climate change. They teach us about the reasons and affects of the problem and urge us to do something about it. We plant trees to stop the loss of forests, lower our carbon footprint, and work toward a more healthy future.
Still, time is running out. The effects of climate change keep putting our way of life at risk. We don’t see as much animals as we used to. Our fishing towns are having a hard time because the fish are moving to cooler seas. Our kids ask us questions about why things change so quickly.
When I look at our town, I can’t help but feel like time is running out. We need the world to hear us and realize that climate change is not just a far-off threat for us, but something we live with every day. We need help and tools to be able to change and get stronger.
But I still have hope, even when things are hard. We are hopeful that we can make a change if we speak up and work together. We are hopeful that our actions, no matter how small, will help start a worldwide movement for change. And we are hoping that we will be able to protect our village and future families from the harsh effects of climate change.
For the time being, we continue to change and find ways to live and do well. We stick to our customs and our strong ties to the land because we know that our strength will get us through. And we dream of a future where our town and all others like it can once again grow and thrive in balance with nature.
