Zimbabwe’s Seasoned Youth Climate Champion
By Natalie Sifuma
There are moments that define the paths we take as human beings. For Tafadzwa Kurotwi, 2015 and 2017 are stark moments in her journey as an African climate activist and youth ambassador.
To recap both seasons… in 2015, she saw the impacts of climate change on her parents’ farm. A natural disaster severely threatened their main source of livelihood. The lack of awareness on climate change and subsequent preparation left them vulnerable to the devastating aftermath. Then in 2017, while in high school in Harare, Tafadzwa began to understand the power of speaking up to injustices. When she eventually became a Junior Councillor, she saw that she and many others like her were supposed to occupy spaces and do so with the confidence and gusto that’s ingrained in them.
As a girl always hungry for more knowledge, she took to investing more time gathering information about climate change – not just what it was, but more importantly its causes and the outcomes of having informed people and disaster preparedness tactics. Looking around her, she saw how far removed many young people were from the conversations on climate action, and she desired change in this context.
In this way, the seed of change began blooming within her, and she inadvertently began the journey to being a beacon of hope and confidence, enabling more young people to see themselves as the voices of change – both at grassroots level and in governance.
Three years later, in 2020, she had another awakening – one that was more, well, “technical”. She was a freshman at The Catholic University of Zimbabwe, excited by the new and fresh season in life. But she was almost immediately challenged by another revelation: accessibility to the internet. Having access to a digital resource and repository was a game changer, and could be for many if only it was accessible by all. But be that as it may, it was not the reality. With her growing radical spirit, she took away what she sourced online and used it to feed into her activism.
In no time, Tafadzwa was part of movements such as Fridays For the Future, learning from and collaborating with regional and international activists. Tafadzwa became hungry to do more for the people in her community. Yes, she had picked up the strategic approaches to carry out positive activism, but she needed to tailor her execution such that it was considerate of the plights and needs of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans. This was the genesis of the development of the Emerald Climate Hub, a climate space that was determined to involve young Zimbabweans in the broader climate action movement by influencing them to take action. What began as a Whatsapp community quickly became a larger platform, reeling in more young Zimbabweans eager to jump on the global change wagon.
Tafadzwa also began researching ways to develop sustainable solutions through technology. Her focus enabled her to stand apart yet still be in tune with climate action that is people-centred. And now, Tafadzwa may be well on her way to being one of the youngest Zimbabweans working to provide agritech solutions for Zimbabweans working in agriculture.
However, understanding that technology is also a privilege in rural areas in Zimbabwe, Tafadzwa has additionally resorted to offline strategies to access those who have been far-to-reach or previously forgotten in the recent tech advancement communications.
The areas where she continues to make an impact are close to home, specifically in the Mashingo and Mazowe communities who occupy the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe. Among her focus areas include climate education and awareness, nurturing of climate champions and representatives in local schools, and empowering women through smart agriculture and entrepreneurship skills.
This steady work ethic enabled Tafadzwa to attend COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh in 2022, and a few months later joined SHE Changes Climate as the Ambassador for Zimbabwe. At COP28 Tafadzwa insteads to bring her activist and feminist energy, leveraging on her authentic African perspective and experience on climate matters.
