Kamani calls on everyone to plant more trees

Kamani, 14, lives with her parents and two brothers in Mahottari District in Nepal. Floods are an annual occurrence there, but in recent years the family has noticed flash flooding getting worse and more frequent and unseasonal rainfall has increased. Like most people in their village, Kamani’s family have some land where they grow their own food, however, weather patterns have become so unpredictable in recent years that the family has been unable to grow enough food and often must buy it from the market instead.

About four years ago, a flash flood destroyed much of their village, washing away crops and livestock and damaging homes. Kamani’s house, which was made of mud, was badly damaged. As a result, the family had to build a new house. The flood also destroyed the local school and Kamani was unable to go back to school for almost a month.

“Our environment is getting worse every day. The rain is also irregular now due to environmental damage. Rain does not fall when it should, and winter is also not consistent. The environment is getting polluted fast, and we should do something about it,” says Kamani. “To stop climate change, we should ask the government to make rules to promote tree plantation. Everyone should have to follow strict rules. There will be more trees and people will know themselves what is right and what is wrong,” she adds.

Kamani believes that the worsening floods in her village are due to climate change, which she learned about at school. She is worried about the impact that climate change is having on children in her village. She worries that the increased use of chemical fertilizers – which families must use due to the increasingly poor quality of the soil – will make them ill and that they will be unable to pass their exams if the school keeps being closed because of flooding.

Kamani attends Save the Children supported child clubs in her village. At the child club, she takes part in workshops on child rights and leadership. She, along with other members of the club, organize anti-child marriage campaigns and celebrate events like children’s day.

About Save the Children’s work

Save the Children has been working in Nepal since 1976 with focus on Child Rights Governance and Protection, Education, Health and Nutrition, Livelihoods, HIV and AIDS, and responding to humanitarian crises. The Nepal Country Office has been working on climate action through its campaigns like My Forest Child, Red Alert, Generation Hope and most recently SHIFT campaign.

Various tree plantation activities have been organized in Nepal through the climate campaigns In Nepal, Save the Children contributes to building community and school resilience by focusing on the capacity of children, families, and systems to protect and safeguard all children against shocks and stresses to ensure the realization of their rights which is reflected in our Country Strategic Plan, 2022-2024. We do so by working in partnership with the government, civil society organizations, media, and private sector. We are also one of the key stakeholders in promoting green and safe school agenda across all tiers of government.

We work closely with children and youth and amplify their voices on climate change through various campaigns like SHIFT and Generation Hope. Save the Children is the technical lead on shock-responsive social protection. We engage with the government of Nepal in terms of policy development and influencing child-focused policy through different national and international platforms such as COP, International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR), anticipatory action, etc.