ACT Alliance

Tanzania’s vice president has called for urgent steps to improve the lives of people enduring the disastrous consequences of climate change, in a welcome speech to a caravan of vehicles travelling from Nairobi to COP17 events in Durban.

The caravan of 160 young people has reached the second country on its journey to South Africa since setting off from Kenya five days ago.

At a concert in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian Vice President Mohamed Gharib Bilal urged the travellers to strive to protect life for the poorest.

He signed a petition by churches and related agencies, We Have Faith, calling for urgent action to address changing climate and its effects on the world’s poorest.

“Climate change is something that we all face, and as a nation climate change is a big challenge to us,” Bilal said.

He urged the young people to send COP17 negotiators a clear message calling for change. “You must be persistent and determent to ensure prosperity for human life on this planet.”

On November 8, the caravan embarked on its longest drive so far to reach Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam. En route, it passed Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, the snow cap of which is melting due to climate change, causing rivers nearby to flood.

David Winaina, representing the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change on the caravan, is concerned about damage to the environment. “When the rivers overflow it affects the livelihoods of people living there. We should act now to stop climate change.”

We Have Faith was a platform for African youth to say that climate change was seriously affecting them, Winaina said.