About Us

How did we come to exist

We had been youth members volunteering for their community but when we experienced the effect of climate change, we decided to take action. On 22 April 2021 during the Commemoration of Internation Earth Day, our team mobilized 30 children and youth for a focus group discussion entitled “Count your Voice on Saving the Earth from Climate Change” at TWEENS-Youth Library and Childline Youth Centre in Tongogara Refugee Camp. Before the session, we broke the ice with a small survey. We asked the young people about climate change and environmental degradation and what role they should play in combating these crises. 80% of the participants didn’t know what climate change and environmental degradation are. 20% of the participants’ average responses referred to “Climate Change as a change of the weather in a long time while environmental degradation is the misuse of the environment.” this result sadly demonstrates that young people were unconscious of the catastrophic challenges of their time. The climate induced-impact, environmental degradation, and our community’s lack of knowledge and ignorance of this topical problem inspired our team to act.

Principles

RCCA Core Principles

Refugee Coalition for Climate Action (RCCA) is a platform dedicated to creating awareness about climate change and the environment to coordinate young people to take the lead in the refugee and immediate host communities. RCCA capacitates young people to spearhead climate and environmental response through Child-youth friendly sessions, tree plantings, and clean clean-up campaigns

About Us

Citing UNESCO report (https://en.unesco.org/be-resilient_zim), Zimbabwe is exposed to multiple weather-related hazards, suffering from frequent periodic cyclones, droughts, floods, and related epidemics and landslides. The situation is becoming worse due to the impact of climate change, which is increasing the frequency of these extreme events, especially tropical storms and cyclones, as well as their intensity. On 15 March 2019, tropical Cyclone Idai hit eastern Zimbabwe affecting 270,000 people across nine districts, particularly in Chimanimani and Chipinge, with 172 reported to have been killed and over 500 injured or missing

In our communities, the Climate Crisis is destroying livelihoods, creating water scarcity, disrupting food security, and destroying the reliable environment on which the refugees and the host community depend for energy and food, hence projecting poverty and widening our vulnerability. The effects of climate change are notable in most parts of Chimanimani and Chipinge. This crisis is hitting some of the most vulnerable people in communities who are struggling to make ends meet yet they are the least responsible for global warming. When tropical Cyclone Idai hit Tongogara Refugee Camp in 2019, 1060 shelters and 618 latrines were destroyed (https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/4017). This overwhelming damage affected 5,300 refugees and asylum seekers. The yearly cyclones are not the only climate-induced shock. Tongogara Refugee Camp is in climate hotspots with persistent heatwaves, and drought. Women, girls, children, elderly people, persons with disability, and other vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected because of their social vulnerability, economic, and cultural roles, and beliefs in our community. They are more susceptible to the effects of climate change and endure hardships during times of food and water scarcity. The climate-induced poverty has led to child labor, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, teenage pregnancy, and other various social and economic problem.