My life grew with sustainability and developmental issues. It all happened when I was selected to be part of United Nation Environmental Assembly conference in Kenya as a youth Journalist for the conference, and my time with TUNZA Africa in Togo.
TUNZA also gives me a platform to express my volunteering opportunity starting my own initiative called Climate Wednesday and it’s a great time for me to share and collaborate with other young people around the world.
At an early age, I learnt that volunteering means helping others is the simplest way of impacting on the lives of people and making positive changes in my own life. At that time, it involved carrying out unassigned activities such as helping the community to be a better place to be. These are still relevant and I have come to realize that volunteering gives me the chance to do some environmental work and gain important professional experience at the same time. It has helped me to know and appreciate other cultures and traditions and the fact that all people are human and the same. This becomes more evident as I share their pains, fears, concerns, joy, hope and strides towards peace and development.
As a UN Youth Champion for Africa on DRR, I’ve been through this role selected
internationally as the Social Media Coordinator for Youth beyond disasters that works United Nations Major Groups Children and Youth, which my role is to coordinate all entire social media strategy in other to showcase success stories and what is going on in all countries when it comes to sustainable development projects. Just recently I was selected by United Nation Major Group Children and Youth to facilitate a conference in Japan for just concluded Disaster Risk Reduction Conference. The experience was awesome.
What is unique about this World Conference is that we have come as youth to talk about a specific area and how our group can contribute to the HFA2. We leave in a very positive frame of mind. Our voice has certainly been heard.
Youth formed a vibrant presence in Sendai and their efforts ahead of, and during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, contributed to the successful outcome in Japan. The World Conference had enabled several new networks and links to be established. The group’s social media outreach has been a success with more than 4,000 followers keeping track of progress on the special ‘Youth Page’ established for the WCDRR. We can’t continue to just do capacity building at a base level. It is great to have basic emergency training – such as ‘Drop, Cover, Hold’ – but now we have to look at what is the next stage for the youth movement as well as the DRR community in general.
At the end of it all, and just like other volunteer work I have undertaken, I always go home each day fulfilled, knowing that my humble contribution gladdens someone’s heart and made their life better. This is my story on volunteering. I hope it will stir you on to volunteer, give someone hope and put a smile on faces of the needy.
Thanks to:
TUNZA
United Nation Environmental Programme
The United Nation office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Nigerian Youth Climate Coalition
Climate Wednesday
United Nations Major Groups on Children & Youth
