adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
AN eight-member Zimbabwe cycling team, the Flying Eagles, has embarked on an 800KM cross-country cycling tour as part of campaigns to raise awareness on climate change. The Flying Eagles joined cycling teams from eight other African countries in the climate for justice campaign. The Flying Eagles started their two-week tour at the Plumtree Border Post, and the team’s captain Thomas Classen said the campaign was being held jointly with Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Classen said each of these countries’ cycling teams was expected to complete their course before handing over the baton stick to their neighbouring country.
“We officially took the baton stick from our Botswana counterparts, Team Jonmol Cyling Club, who cycled throughout their country. Our cycle tour is from the Plumtree Border Post to the Chirundu Border where we will hand over the baton to Zambia,” said Classen.
“Along the way, our team will be disseminating information on climate change related issues and planting trees at institutions such as schools as well as collecting petitions from community members.”
The cycling tour is the brain child of the “We Have Faith Pan African Campaign for Climate Justice” that is spearheaded locally by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC).
Zimbabwe joined other African countries in petitioning their governments to show commitment towards mainstreaming climate change agendas ahead of the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris, France, in December.
During the campaign, youths from Africa are expected to cycle through their countries from border to border.
ZCC acting general secretary Gabriel Manyangadze said the campaign sought to mobilise communities across the African continent, raise awareness on climate change and support their engagement through collecting one million petitions.
“We want African youths and faith leaders to influence their national governments’ position towards climate change issues. This will be done through collecting petitions and during the process, communities or petitioners will also be encouraged to plant a tree and take maximum care of it,” said Manyangadze in a statement.
“A million trees will be planted at identified ‘green zone areas’ in nine African countries, which will mainly be at different public institutions and churches.”
Manyangadze said the cycling tour was a symbolic event to demonstrate practical action that people could adopt practices to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector.
He said bicycles were a safe mode of transport that was harmless to the environment.
The cycling tour started from Maputo, Mozambique, on August 31 and will end in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 8.
derick.khumalo