“Youth Engagement for Global Action” is the theme of International Youth Day 2020 and seeks to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral organisations, as well as drawing lessons on how their representation and engagement on important issues can be enhanced.
Raleigh young people create an immense impact in countries around the world. Here in Tanzania, we are working with the government and different partners to make impact through youth around sanitation and hygiene, natural resource management, livelihoods, and accountability. All this impact would not be possible without the young people who put their hard work and sweat into their projects.
In June 2019, Raleigh partnered with a youth organisation ‘Tengeneza Generation‘ in Morogoro. Volunteers worked together with Tengeneza Generation to plant trees in the Uluguru Mountains. The Uluguru Mountains are a mountain range part of the Eastern Arc of Tanzania which is affected by climate change due to human activities.
To offset the impacts of climate change in the mountains, Raleigh Tanzania volunteers constructed a tree nursery of 200 ‘Miseberea’ trees in the Uluguru Mountains to conserve the environment. One year on, as the trees have grown and in various areas of the mountain, we start to see the effect of the trees. The trees are beneficial for the whole local community for tourism, protecting the biodiversity and protecting the water sources which serve different areas both inside and outside Morogoro.
The tree-planting work of young people is only the tip of the iceberg – Raleigh Tanzania young people are doing lots of remarkable work young through projects through Raleigh. International Youth Day is an opportunity to commemorate young peoples’ voices, actions, and initiatives, as well as their meaningful work and engagement around the globe. Amazing work to all my fellow young people!
International Youth Day is an awareness day designated by the United Nations to celebrate the amazing power of young people and the action they are taking to make the world a better place.
