"Just my Two Cents"

"Dear reader, here is a heartfelt piece from one true follower that I am so proud of! She became inspired to become a change agent way back when she was a lot younger when she met me at a reach out program and ever since then she has never looked back in learning to becoming better. Though young, but her determination and passion towards being part of the move for global change is really inspiring to the extent that I  often stand back and marvel at how far she has come and the great contribution she is really going to give towards making better our world.  One lesson is, never stop being the change you want to see in the world, you never know who is getting inspired by your little action."

Bamidele Oni

Adesimbo during a community reach out program in the Republic of Benin

Some few months ago, I came across a phrase that says "women are the heart of global development” This took my mind way back in time to reflect on the good memories attached to the first time I heard the phrase. The time was actually a growing period for me and the phrase of course felt inspiring but I must confess that I never really got to have a perfect understanding of it until my passion became a tutor.

My passion around social change has overtime impressed a driven focus on development, climate change and gender related issues while of course quite receptive to learning about other social components that I am yet to come across.

This is the point where I would come out a bit with my story.

Adesimbo during a visit to the Juvenile Remand home in Abeokuta

I was born and brought up in a world of inequality, injustice and most of all under the severe impact of climate change with the usual periodic drought, floods and the opportunistic health risks which has the greater Impact on women and children, a societal category that I incidentally fall among. The sadness in my heart can’t be expressed alone with mere words; I am so weary with the many holes of concerns in my heart which cannot be filled up unless the concerns are all attended to justly.

However, from record, it’s been proven overtime the roles women have played in shaping the course of human history and it is quite a profound statement that women still remain the key to any success and no man born of a woman can underestimate the power of a woman as the saying goes and I quote "Behind any successful man is a woman”. Although the place of Women in the society as described cannot but be appreciated but at the same time the situation in today’s world of a changing climate scenario has subjected them to a lot hardship and pains. 

They are the most impacted negatively especially those in the rural who are often subjected under the conditions of heavily tasked farm works, trekking long distances to obtain water, Increased health risk such as gynecological problem related to use of unclean water. All are few examples of how climate disaster could impact on reproductive health and rights so vital to autonomy and empowerment. That is why I have come to a conclusion that for progress on global development, climate disasters hinges on placing women at the center of the agenda. Am tired of been faced with the same challenges every day, am tired of been a victim for years after so much effort. 

My heart cries loud, the tears on my face, the tears in my heart can’t be measured, it’s like tears full of nothing but bitterness. Now and then I look up to the sky and ask myself “Would this tears ever come to an end as the possibility of a safe future seems uncertain in the hands of our leaders”.

If there is anything I wish for at the end of this year, it is a sound success at the climate conference going on in Paris, Our leaders must finally arrive at a way forward for our common good.

By Adesimbo Oluwatobi

Adesimbo Oluwatobi is an assistant volunteer coordinator for Green Impact International