Profile: James Kamau

28, Kenyatta University, Kenya, Africa

• My interest in FXB climate advocacy is to learn and improve my understanding and thus be able to create climate change awareness for necessary actions so as to reduce human induced climate change activities and thus protect our motherland since we don’t have planet B.

• I am an Environmentalist and Community Practitioner having accomplished a program in Environmental Studies and Community Development in Kenyatta University. I am a recipient of Pan African climate justice (PACJA) and African Climate week (ACW) in Libreville Gabon 2022.

• Just immediately after my completion (2019) at Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), I started a tree nursery as a means of income to increase tree cover in my community. This is after garnering an experience at KEFRI. I had hoped that this would go well with my community only for it to backfire. After a thorough engagement I just found that they are not even aware of the existence of climate change. An engagement of reasons behind the weather changes they just responded that it's because God is furious with current evil doings of mankind. This was a task to start a bit of convincing the locals about climate change. They uphold the disappointment of the supreme being. After critical thinking I found it fit to join the local community forest association Muguga Ecosystem Research Community Forest Association (MERCFA) to introduce the concept. It's through the MERCFA that most of my local communities realized the reasons as to why the weather is behaving differently. Though it was a volunteer work of educating the MERCFA and it took time, I am happy that every face in the community can have a chance to give an account of the reasons we are facing various catastrophes globally and actions that need to be taken to mitigate and adapt issues of climate change. I consider this as my big achievement in regards to the environment in my society.