Ugandan climate activist is becoming Africa's Johnny Appleseed
UGANDA — A Ugandan climate activist is becoming Africa's Johnny Appleseed, demanding climate action from his home country's government.
Nyombi Morris, 24, knows firsthand how devastating our changing climate can be. In 2008, flash flooding displaced 400 people in eastern Uganda; he and his family among them.
"I am a climate migrant," he said. "The impacts of climate change have no borders."
His family lost their home and farm in the floods and relocated to the country's capital city, Kampala. But, when they arrived things became very difficult after Nyombi's father left the family and disappeared.
He chose to turn his adversity into ambition, hitting the Kampala streets to demand climate action.
The early days were nerve-wracking," said Morris. "But this was the first time I realized maybe I can do something."
Though Morris' early days weren't easy, these days he hits the streets in a different way, visiting schools across Uganda.
"We have a mission of reaching over 1.2 million young people," he said. "The mission is to equip, educate, and empower with knowledge and concern around climate change. I want to mobilize more young people."
His latest attempt at greening up Uganda is by planting trees, but it began with a challenge: putting actions to words.
"I used to go with different people as a joke, we'd plant, plant, plant and plant," said Morris. This year, I would plant this and this… I realized it was becoming an addiction."
His group has planted over 50,000 trees, with Morris personally planting about 22,000.
"It's a responsibility," he said. "If you don't have a responsibility to protect the planet, then you shouldn't be alive. Without a planet you wouldn't survive."
All of these pursuits are not without problems. In 2021, Morris was detained by police and his phone was confiscated.
"[In Uganda] speaking the truth can lead to you getting arrested. Kidnapped. Disappear. Killed," he said. "But in other countries, you have that freedom. Use it, so you stand with those who can't stand."
"When we have to solve this global crisis, we need to come together, we need to listen to each other, we need to respect each other, without excluding the conversation," he continued. "It may be me speaking, but it doesn't mean this isn't happening in your country."