Climate Change Workshops in Nigeria
This January I led three workshops in Nigeria on climate change. My thanks to Chioma Okonkwo (the Area Reference Person for Lagos, Nigeria) for her support, organizing, leadership, and commitment to RC and to the Communities in which I led the workshops.
The workshops were in Lagos and Abuja (twenty-five participants in each) and Enugu (over fifty participants). These Communities have a strong foundation in RC, which showed in the classes and sessions.
Our workshops included the following topics:
- Global warming due to the rise of CO2 and other gases in the atmosphere, from the industrial revolution, fossil fuels, and industrial agriculture
- The dangers we are facing because of climate change—including floods, heat waves, fogs, droughts, desertification, and unpredictable food shortages
- Colonialism and the exploitation of Africa and its resources and how Africa will be the most affected by climate change
- Discouragement and early hurts
Participants shared some effects of climate change that they are experiencing, for example, extreme weather and unpredictable rainy seasons that are threatening food production.
I shared some actions we can take:
- Discharging—having regular sessions and working on early hurts
- Having up-to-date information; for example, the RC website has resources we can use in our classes and workshops
- Linking up with local organizations working to end climate change, and offering RC as a resource
- Reducing consumption and encouraging others to do the same
- Encouraging the use of renewable energy
- Reclaiming our connection with and love for the earth
- Agitating for good policy and action wherever we are; openly protesting the current situation and insisting that the changes needed take place rapidly
- Remembering to not do this alone and to not blame ourselves
We had sessions on the following:
- Pleasant memories of the environment
- How enough of us, from across the world, can unite in demanding change in ways that cannot be ignored
- Early experiences of discouragement and helplessness
- The RC one-point program: discharging to recover our occluded intelligence and helping others to do the same
I ended each workshop with a reminder that there is hope, that each action matters, and that no action is too small. Participants met in small groups with people they are closest to geographically to plan action and sessions together.
Nairobi, Kenya