John -
My name is Ziada Kassimu and I'm writing to you from Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania. As I sit in front of my computer on this dry and hot day, my mind and heart travel around the remote parts of my country – the places where I actually spend most of my days.
I'm a medical assistant working with Green Conservers, a partner of 350.org in the REPower Afrika campaign, but my journey as a climate activist started many years ago, when I was still in college. As part of my studies, I visited local communities and villages to understand what was putting people's health at the most risk. And the answer was unequivocally clear: climate change and fossil fuels.
In every village I visited, we found several children suffering from malnutrition, due to food insecurity related to droughts and unpredictable weather patterns. And with no access to energy, youth and women were suffering from pulmonary diseases (especially COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) caused by the smoke from kerosene lamps and firewood used for cooking.
Tanzania is a major producer of fossil gas — and yet more than 30 million people, about half of the population, lack access to energy. In rural areas, the situation is even worse: less than 2% can rely on electricity for their daily needs. For more than 50 years, we've been exporting most of the resources we extract, while our population is left in the dark and subject to the pollution and human rights abuses these companies leave behind – just like what is happening now with the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). As I left university, I couldn't ignore this reality – working with women and youth in these rural areas has been my life since then.
With REPower Afrika, I have been holding periodic meetings with around 100 women and 150 youth in more than 30 villages in the region of Tanga. That's one of the areas which will be most affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. We deliver information about the impacts of the pipeline and how to use renewables to improve their lives. We explore the best solutions for them, with them. We help them realize that change is possible and we all can drive it!
REPower Afrika is about education, capacity-building and providing resources for communities. It's about leading hope by example. I'm really proud of the work we've done so far – from installing solar panels in community facilities, to empowering women and girls with knowledge to fight for a just energy transition. The improvements that clean energy has represented to people's health and lives in these villages is notable already. And each day we see more women engaged and standing up for themselves and their communities.
But Tanga is just one of the many regions impacted by EACOP in Tanzania. In 2025, we want to reach more of them, and we need your help!
Working with 350.org has been a joy, as it's not about words: it's about action. 350 takes action on moving communities away from fossil fuels, impacting their livelihoods and giving them opportunities to grow and speak for themselves. We want to multiply these actions in the upcoming year, making REPower Afrika a model for community-driven energy transition. Join us!
In solidarity and always onwards,
Ziada Kassimu
REPower Afrika with 350.org
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PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004
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