…says the idea was to create awareness among the participants to inspire them to take action in addressing the pressing issues.
A group of Non-Governmental Organizations in Plateau State have teamed up to address environmental issues bedeviling the state and its environs.
This was made known at a two days conference organized Tearfund and her partners held at the Jos Business School in Rayfield recently. Participants at the conference which was tagged, “Climate Justice” includes:Religious leaders, Youths, Institutions, Journalists, Influencers and other sister NGOs in the state.
The conference, according to the Renew Our World Project Program Officer of Tearfund, Mr. Promise Salawu was part of a campaign launched in March, 2020 Tagged “Renew our world” Tearfund and her partners, to support Churches, Institutions and Communities to intercede and intervene for climate justice in the state and nation as a whole.
Mr. Salawu said the conference is put together Ignite House, (JCMI), RURCON, TCNN, CRUDAN and ACET Nigeria to address the impact of climate crisis especially on the vulnerable people in the society. He said the idea was to create awareness among the participants to inspire them to take action in addressing the pressing issues.
He said the action plan now is for individual to take decision especially on issues discussed where everyone will deliberately have behavioral change doing the right thing always and also hold people accountable for wrong doing against God’s creation.
Some of the environmental issues discussed at the conference that needs urgent step to address are improper waste management, gully erosion, deforestation, building on water ways among others where the participants pledged to act engaging people within their communities for necessary action aimed at addressing the ugly phenomenon.
One of the participants who spoke to this medium, Pastor Ada Emmanuel, said the conference was an eye opener to him, considering the intellectual resources they were blessed with, saying he will use it to influence his community positively with the understanding that Church is responsible for caring for God’s creature and maintain the earth to its fullness.
While quoting the common adage that says “cleanliness is next to godliness”, Pst. Ada said neatness is key for the visitation of God and if one is keeping his environment clean, he is bringing the prototype of heaven on earth. He advised pastors to take the message of environmental issues to the pulpits because the Church need to teach people how to be responsible to their environment, animals, plants and their drainage system.
For Mrs. Elsie Adum, the conference is a reminder on her Godly responsibility to the earth which God himself is interested in and gave man dominion over it. She said people need to change their mindset and she promised to start the action from her house, within neighbourhood and community as a whole.
