Ayeni to walk 260km for climate change

Sep 18, 2017

Ayeni’s will complete his charity walk in 10 days.

Ayena will also plant trees. Photo by Gerald Tenywa

CLIMATE CHANGE|AWARENESS

As more Ugandans face dangers caused by floods, landslides, drought and food insecurity, Geoffrey Walker Ayeni, has decided to highlight the plight of climate change by walking 260km from Kampala to Kapchorwa.

Ayeni's charity walk for climate change will take him 10 days starting today. He will plant trees at different stopovers, including Mabira Forest Reserve in Mukono, Buikwe and Kayunga districts.

He will also plant a tree at the world famous source of River Nile at the place where the Nile starts its 6,700km long journey to Egypt. He hopes that this will create awareness and increase the consciousness of people about climate change.

Samuel Cheptoris, the Minister of Water and Environment is expected to flag off Ayeni at an official ceremony organised at the ministry's headquarters in Luzira, a suburb in Kampala. 

Climate Change is caused by emissions such as carbon dioxide, which trap heat escaping to the atmosphere, thereby, causing global warming. The warming of the earth disrupts rainfall patterns and also melts the ice on mountain tops like the Rwenzori.

Ayeni, a marketeer, describes himself as a committed charity walker. His previous expedition includes the walk for popularising the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOM) in 2007.

Because of his build, Ayeni was one time invited by a top modeling agency in Kampala, but he turned them down because it was not his passion. The Aleptong-born Ayeni preferred to engage in pursuits that benefit humanity and the disadvantaged people.

"I dedicated this walk to this cause because climate change is affecting our lives and we need to do something about it," he told New Vision in an interview. "I hope people will take steps to address climate change as individuals, the Government, private sector and civil society."

He also pointed out that his route (Kampala-Kapchorwa) was selected because of the different terrain and the different climatic hazards, including the highlands that are currently affected by landslides.

This is one man's mission, but which should awaken many others in the public to start playing a role in dealing with the effects of climate change and to tame the hostile weather changes.

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