By Hajara Usman
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), YandyTech Community, has begun training 20 youths in Gombe, aged 18 to 25, to actively address the severe effects of climate change within their communities.
Our correspondent reports that the training, tagged “Youth Empowerment for Climate Action in Nigeria (YE-CAN) project, selected Gombe as the pilot state.
Mal. Abubakar Yandi, Chief Operations Officer of YandyTech, highlighted the programme’s mission to cultivate a generation of climate-conscious leaders.
He said in addition to capacity building, they will provide participants with seed funding to implement projects in their communities. “These projects will focus on innovative approaches, such as tree planting, advocacy visits to key stakeholders, and engaging with young people to ensure communities in Gombe State are better informed about climate action.
He said the project duration is six months, and the participants are expected to implement climate-related projects following their training. “For example, to educate people in their communities on the need to embrace charcoal for cooking instead of using firewood, which is dangerous to their health.
“Also, to encourage afforestation as well as holding town hall meetings to increase awareness on addressing climate changes,” he explained.
Mr. Yasid Mika’il, the training consultant, said YE-CAN focuses specifically on educating and engaging youth, who are often excluded from decision-making processes, especially regarding environmental matters.
Also , YE-CAN seeks to change this by equipping young people with the tools needed to become advocates and innovators in climate change.
He said the project involves leadership development, skill-building workshops, mentorship, and entrepreneurial training.
“Through this, twenty young participants from Gombe’s eleven local government areas will gain the skills to develop sustainable solutions for local climate challenges.”
Beneficiaries of the project expressed optimism that the training will contribute to a more sustainable future for Gombe.
