Ashbasu the Climate Champion

In a far village, there was a girl named Ashbasu.

As Ashbasu grew older, she left her village to pursue her education at Model International School in Kaduna, a prestigious school. There, she was exposed to new ideas, experiences, and a world much different from the one she had known in her village. After completing her studies and graduating, Ashbasu returned to her village, eager to reconnect with her roots.

However, upon her return, she was shocked by what she found. The once-pristine surroundings she remembered from her childhood were replaced by heaps of waste and pollution. The streets, once clean and lively, were now covered in litter, and the environment she had once cherished seemed to have fallen into neglect. 

She asked her mother what had transpired in the last few years. Her mother explained that the new king did not care about the community and its environment.

Ashbasu, who loved the clean ocean as a child, spent hours around the town watching the sea creatures. She also remembered stories from her grandmother about how beautiful the environment was and living together with sea animals like the tortoise, birds, and seals. 

As she was wondering about the deteriorated state of her village, she saw a goat eating grass in the bush. The goat accidentally ate a piece of plastic litter lying near the grass.

The plastic caused the goat to feel uncomfortable, it kept coughing and screaming for help. To prevent any further complications, the goat was slaughtered by villagers at the behest of the king. This incident made her aware of the dangers of plastic pollution in her community.

As days passed, she noticed the high plastic waste that her community produced daily. She said to herself, “If plastic can suffocate the little goat, cause our ocean to be polluted, then I must do something.”

She decided to be the agent of change that her community deserved. She began to sensitize her community about plastic waste management, recycling, and beach clean-up activities.

In her effort, she asked businesses in the community to adopt sustainable products and wrote letters to policymakers, the king of her community, to make laws that would stop the use of plastic bags, bottles, and containers. Slowly, laws were enacted and implemented, businesses in her community reduced the use of plastic, and the environment became clean and healthier.

Ashbasu’s work inspired neighboring communities, and young people started taking action to curb plastic pollution and improve environmental sustainability.

The story shows how small actions can make a big difference, and collective action makes greater change. At the end, Ashbasu’s parents, schoolmates, and community were happy that a member of the community was now a true ‘Climate Champion’.

The story is written by Patrick Omoake, an environmental journalist based in Nigeria.