This is definitely not the usual In Depth edition you are going to be reading: but we’ll see how that goes: So instead of going through the usual motions of emotions, what I have been through and blah blah: this time we look through one of those things that is eating up society. Climate Change:

You may think: What? But this is at the end of the day one of those things that have affected every living creature on this earth, is affecting us and will definitely affect us in the future.

A lot of research has been done to this effect; a lot of facts have been unearthed leading to the formation of movements all over the world championing the cause of climate change: but as we all know Charity begins at home:

I come from a little but very significant part of Uganda: Kabale. That is what Sir Winston Churchill called the Switzerland of Africa. I remember growing up in a nice cold environment: with standard hot and rainy seasons: I remember that it always rained around Christmas time and that June July August were usually the hottest months ever. I dreaded that season: The sun shone with a vengeance: It got very dusty and often times we had to go fetch water at the borehole which was down the Hill. I hated that time of the year that is for sure; Our playtime and TV time was cut short because an extra chore had been added the list: Never the less we did it. We had a tank built for rain water:  that is what our household run on. And during those times it run dry!

Today the story is different; the seasons have gotten pretty much messed up. Today it shines all through the year and rains all through the year; there are no-longer any definitive planting seasons for the farmers to follow: Parts of Kabale these days get mudslides. When it rains: it more than pours. The climate has happened:  or rather is it climate change has happened:

I wish I knew what the reasons were: maybe it is deforestation. Kabale has always had lots of trees that is for sure: but has lost most of them to people that are clearing land for farming and also to the production of charcoal. The land has lost its fertility too. My grandmother used to have great produce: from her land when we were younger. The sweet potatoes were always big and white on the inside when cooked; I remember enjoying them for breakfast when roasted. But not anymore. The size has reduced and though they are still very tasty: something has definitely changed.

And so the change has affected us all: from my now toothless grandmother to that minister who lives in Kampala and can afford air conditioning in his house. It has happened to all of us! It is not as it used to be: Climate change is here with us. A change that whether we know it or not we have gotten to experience!

Can we avert or change this trend: YES. How: the answer lies with every one of us. Every time you opt to use charcoal as fuel to cook dinner or boil water: you are contributing to this change: every time you choose to side with the government of Uganda on the sale of Mabira-that my dear friend is a contribution made. Every time we keep out about the changes going on in our communities: I believe that that too is a contribution made.

We however have choices as how much positive change can be made:  I want be the voice in the desert: the Humming Bird as the Late Prof Wangari Muthaai called herself in a cause to make this world a better place. And succeed she did. A legacy that will last for a lifetime she left behind! And that is because she opted and decided to be the change.

You and I may never make it to The UN Convention on Climate Change: We may never be able to be part of the debate on the environment in Uganda led by the Ministry of Water and Environment; We may never be able to know and understand what is meant by major greenhouse gases being necessary to identify the current trends in atmospheric concentrations and climate change: But I believe that we can effect change by being the voice in our communities where we belong.

And I hope that you too can borrow a leaf and make this known. Change the World. A journey of 1000 steps begins with a single step. Working within our means is what works: Can we keep up the trend: Can we embrace this cause as one of our own? Hopefully so.

Look no further; Change begins with YOU and ME::::