Climate change activist, Walker set to walk 370km

Ayeni is set to walk 370km this year for the sake of the environment

ENVIRONMENT

KAMPALA - Walker Ayeni is a man on a mission. Like his first name suggests, Ayeni has been walking to create awareness about the impacts of climate change.

Ayeni emerged as a new face of the campaign against climate change at the end of last year when he conquered 320km from Kampala to Kapchorwa.

He walked as he spread the message about the effects climate change and inspired people to take action against the changing climatic conditions. He said tree planting was one of the interventions that could be taken up by the people.

After conquering eastern Uganda, Ayeni is now spreading his tentacles to parts of western Uganda by walking from Kampala to Kasese via Fort Portal, starting March 14. His new target is to walk 370km in the coming 10 days and also encourage people to plant a million trees.

"As I walk I am going to advocate for the planting of a million trees to save our environment," said Ayeni, adding that the people need to take action as individuals, community, private sector, local government and Government.

Ayeni belongs to the Walkers Association of Uganda, which is the biggest walking club in the country and the club is expected to dispatch some of its members to accompany him.

He is being funded by WWF-World Wide Fund for nature, together with the environment ministry among other partners. Ayeni's walk will end on March 24 on Saturday, when Earth Hour, which is a global campaign to inspire the public to adopt sustainable lifestyles, will be taking place. WWF mobilises activities under Earth Hour in Uganda.

"We can do something for the environment, besides tree planting, some could engage in recycling," said Emma Eupal, who is the fundraising and communications manager at WWF.

Climate change is caused by emissions such as carbondioxide from production processes, 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.

In addition, Uganda has experienced frequent flooding in parts of Teso and Butaleja. The mountainous districts, particularly Bududa and Sironko have also been hit by devastating landslides. 

Ayeni hails from Aleptong, which was previously part of Lira and it is also prone to flooding during the rainy season.