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Musa Kondeh | Koidu City, Sierra Leone
Solution
Community Audiovisual Climate Change and Environmental Protection Project
Traditional slash-and-burn agriculture and large-scale diamond and gold mining operations have degraded the land and water quality in the project site so badly that residents are beginning to experience hunger and malnutrition due to lower crop yields and waterborne illness from contaminated water sources. Unfortunately, local communities see these negative impacts as punishment from God and not related to their own actions and behaviors. The Community Audiovisual Climate Change and Environmental Protection Project would educate locals on changing their narratives through the development of documentaries explaining the reasons behind their current environmental challenges. The project would also work with schools to produce community theatrical performances focused on changing agricultural and mining practices at the root of the problems. Finally, the project would organize key stakeholders to develop community action plans aimed at identifying and addressing the key climate change and environmental problems.