Rahmina Paulette is a Kenyan climate activist who advocates environmental pollution issues, particularly at Lake Victoria in Kisumu.
Paulette, who attended the COP26 United Nations climate event in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021, turned her attention to COP27 taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
In March 2022, she was part of a campaign called ‘Food at COP’, which aimed at promoting indigenous vegetables to be served at COP 27.
Food@COP is a movement led by a collection of young people from around the globe who believe climate-friendly negotiations must take place over climate-friendly meals.
A road sign in Eqypt announcing the COP27 event.
File COP movement calls on parties to incorporate food systems and healthy and sustainable diets as key topics into the outcomes of the negotiations, their programming, and operational sustainability strategies
They specifically wanted COP 27 to:
Dedicate a “Food Day” in the official COP program to strengthen the urgent required food systems transformation, with healthy and sustainable diets as a core focus.
Encourage member states to include healthy and sustainable diets in their Nationally Determined Contributions.
Rahmina, who grew up in Kisumu, was introduced to environmental activism at five years.
She has witnessed firsthand the effects of climate change leading to great difficulties like drought and floods.
The activist attributed the poisoning of the water, suffocation of aquatic life, soil erosion and health problems in people living around the lake to high pollution.
“Being an Indigenous person from Lake Victoria, I would like to help restore the ecosystem for my community that has an ancestral connection to the lake and also for the future generations to enjoy the cool breeze, good smells and see the biodiversity within Lake Victoria,” Paulette stated.
Her campaign, “Let Lake Victoria Breathe Again”, focuses on the negative impacts of pollution and rising temperatures on the environment around the lake.
Paulette has been at the forefront of fighting against the pollution of the lake and founded a project that uses invasive water hyacinth to make a wide range of products like tables, chairs, baskets and table mats.
The young environmental champions carry out their activities during the weekends and focus on environmental conservation, climate change awareness and wildlife conservation.
With help from her mother, Paulette is looking to scale up activities as she urges all Kenyans to incorporate eco-friendly ways in their day-to-day lives.
President William Ruto holding a brief meeting in Egypt for the 2022 UN COP27
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