Caravan of hope

Hundreds of campaigners, farmers and pastoralists from all over Africa have travelled to Durban in South Africa on a Caravan of Hope covering more than 4,000 miles and 10 countries en route to the UN climate talks that start on Monday.
The coach convoy called the Trans African Caravan of Hope set off from the Burundian capital, Bujumbura on November 9, and is picking up people all along the journey’s 17-day route, passing through Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa.
Some of those travelling on the Caravan come from communities affected by the drought crisis in East Africa and are taking their stories of the impacts of climate change to African and other world leaders at the climate talks. Three CAFOD partners from Kenya are joining the caravan.
Sarah Wykes, Cafod's lead analyst on climate change and environmental issues told Linda Bordoni that the current drought in East Africa has created a lot of awareness amongst pastoral communities on the impact of climate change on their everyday lives. Communities, she says, have witnessed the rainfall patterns being disrupted and this has had an impact on their ability to sustain themselves.
Dr. Wykes explained that the Caravan has been organised by the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, a CAFOD partner organisation. Those travelling to Durban are demanding the UN talks help produce a just solution to the mounting climate crisis.
Cafod's webpage spells out the objectives of the Caravan of Hope
· To mobilise and rally together African civil society articulate advocacy demands to Africa leaders to push the people’s agenda on climate change and climate justice within the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) – Conference of Parties (COP)17 that is taking place in Africa.
· To create awareness and build momentum towards UNFCCC- COP17 among African people and the rest of the world – to educate about the impact of climate change and to highlight people’s testimonies and stories about how climate change is affecting Africans now.
· To lobby and pressurise African leaders/policy makers to work together in support of an international climate change treaty that is responsive to the continent’s realities and reality to science.
· To drum up support for pro-people and just responses to climate change.
· To promote the African People’s Petition and the demands to Heads of State and other policy-makers as evidence of the urgent action that their people require them to take at domestic level and within the African and global processes.
listen to the interview with Dr. Sarah Wykes...