A few Rustenburg girls have been very busy during lockdown to try and make a difference to the community from their homes. Some are actively involved in a youth-led organisation called the African Climate Alliance (ACA) who have been doing some incredible work. The ACA is trying to help curb climate, ecological and social injustices.
Students from the Southern Suburbs have also founded a “A Platform For Discussion”. Kate Birch (Grade 11) explained what they have been doing during this time: “We have held online discussions to create safe spaces for womxn and non-binary people to talk about their experiences with gender-based violence. We host regular online discussions to talk about topics such as race and sexuality and catch up on what was previously discussed.”
ACA have also been very busy during lockdown working on future projects and starting new ones. “We are currently working on a campaign titled “The Future Is…” which aims to provide a platform for youth to voice their ideas for the future. We also started a reading project sharing extracts from texts written by activists. We also call on young artists to create art about intersectional climate activism.”
It is encouraging to see the youth of today working for the future despite the current circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and lockdown. For more information about their work go to the ACA’s Instagram page @africanclimatealliance
-Roxanne Comyn