Women Awareness Program on Climate Change and Solid Waste Management

In a speech to his fellow Ghanaians in the early 1900s, the visionary educator, Dr. J.E. Kwegyir Aggrey, declared, “The surest way to keep a people down is to educate the men and neglect the women. If you educate a man you simply educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family.”

Living in a healthy environment is an every human being’s inborn right. Thus, as part of nature creation, humans are blessed with beautiful and creative minds to support the environment by keeping it sustainable for future generations. Unfortunately, we have been so self-centered that we are leading to loss our flora and fauna. There is an urgent necessity to implement measures in order to mitigate the biodiversity loss, and we are the only creatures that can ameliorate this situation.

Raising environmental awareness among women

As I mentioned above, women can be efficient means to preserve nature. This is the reason why Beedu Pokhrel, Deepti Karki, Kalpana Pudasaini and I, on behalf of Tunza-Eco generation and the local women's group (Shanti Ama Samuha), conducted the "Women Awareness Program on Climate Change and Solid Waste Management” on the 9th of July 2014.

This 3 hours program was organized with the main goal of raising awareness among local women and involving them in the reduction of negative activities on the environment. The event was dignified by the presence of Dr. Hom Bahadur Basnet, Assistant Professor, the women leader and social activist, Mina Kharel, and many other representatives from Tunza- Eco generation, Nepalese Youth for Climate Action and Youth Eco Network.

Women’s role in mitigating Climate Change

First of all, we introduced the term ‘Climate change’ and then presented the different causes and women’s role in mitigating the devastating impacts of climate changeWe focused as well on the consequences that women are facing in their daily lives. Afterwards, presentations were made on types and management of decomposable and non decomposable solid waste. Reliable pictures, videos and events were also shared. Finally we conducted a mass green quiz.

This program was very interactive as all participants were keenly interested in knowing about the hottest issue of present days and they all contributed to draw the following points that should be adopted as soon as possible:

Every drop makes an ocean

Although the program was very short, it was very effective and fruitful. Feeling attendees’ enthusiasm, I got the impression not only that programs carried out at community level have much more significance than the ones at national/regional levels, but also that local actors are doing their utmost to bring a real change. This program may not bring a vast difference but it obviously will add a drop of water in the ocean! 

Picture credit: Women Awareness Program on Climate Change and Solid Waste Management, by Tunza-Eco generation.