Celebrating Africa Day

Earth Life Africa Johannesburg (ELAJ) and the Amadiya Community Organisation (ACO) celebrated Africa Month with Kathorus residents under the theme of climate change at Vosloorus Old Age Home on May 25.

According to the event organisers, the event aimed to remind Africans where they come from and where they want to go and to discuss communities’ challenges and ideas.

Senior residents and young people were encouraged to take small steps within their community and household to preserve Earth as part of commemorating 60 years of Africa Day.

Energy and climate change activist and senior programmes manager at ELAJ, Thabo Sibeko, said Africa Day was a day Africans needed to remember their roots and move away from Western countries.

“It is a day when we need to root ourselves, evaluate and remember how we used to do things. We have to bring back and commemorate our culture and heritage, which is a sustainable way of living without copying Western countries,” said Sibeko.

“It is a way that brings ubuntu, therefore, our spiritual way of living as black people.”

Sibeko spoke about just transition and climate change. He explained that just transition (greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned), was about changing from coal to renewable energy to generate electricity.

He said people could ensure just transition was implemented by actively being involved in the just transition discourse.

“At the moment, there are discussions and the government is engaging local communities to try and find out what kind of change people want to see. The public should engage in that dialogue and call for just transition to renewable energy so that they can have green jobs and communities can create employment opportunities,” he said.

He said people could also change how they did things by installing renewable energy technology in their homes, like solar panels and biogas digestive systems (which uses biodegradable waste to generate electricity).
Sibeko noted that the environment suffered because of the industrial revolution, which favoured technology and chemicals.

“During ancient times, people used natural resources more sustainably, unlike today when they are used for profit making. It encourages greediness and capitalism in our society. Hence, many Western countries are interested in Africa, but they are here just to extract from the continent and make profits in their countries using our resources.
“The accidental way of using resources was more sustainable, and we did not run out of natural resources, unlike now.”

He said Africans needed to use the day to find how they could live and re-establish their relationship with natural resources, animals and the earth.

Sibongile Ndlovu, the ELAJ programmes coordinator, said people could not wait for the government forever, saying they have waited long enough.

“People should avoid littering, take care of themselves and the environment and plant their own food. I usually say one garden per house. Even if you do not have space, you can take a tyre and pour soil, buy a pack of seeds and start planting your food,” she explained.

“If 10 houses on one street have backyard gardens, then we have food, and we are eliminating the consumption of genetically modified food, which could cause health complications in the future.”

Ndlovu said people were unaware of climate change issues, floods, droughts and load-shedding.

She said the energy issues existed even before load-shedding and cable theft, and people did not have electricity not because they did not need it but because they could not afford it.

“Electricity is expensive. People are unemployed and living in extreme poverty. These issues are causing challenges in our home,” said Ndlovu.

She said the older generation should empower the youth with knowledge about how they survived because they used to eat organic food from their gardens and got water from the river streams.

“Today our streams are contaminated because people throw waste in the water.”

She noted that young also people have the responsibility to educate the older generation about technology.
Ndlovu emphasised that change starts within the community, not the government.

“Take care of the environment and it will take care of you. Once you throw rubbish on the street corner other people will follow suit, and it will create an illegal dumping site. This creates a health hazard and bad odour.

ELAJ is an environmental justice organisation founded in 1988 in Braamfontein. Their programs focus on education and awareness about climate change.

They have various campaigns including coal, energy mobilisation meetings, climate change, renewable energy and nuclear energy, green hydrogen and just transition campaign.