RICE West Nile

My name is Abdul Rahuman, a 27-year-old resident of Waka, Itula Parish, in Obongi District. I am an orphan and married.  For seven years, charcoal production was my primary source of livelihood; it was accessible and had a ready market, so I did not fully grasp the damage I was causing to our environment. Reflecting on those years, I remember the physical toll: "When I cut trees for charcoal, my hand would pain, the work is too much, and yet the earnings are little."

My name is Iya Samuel, and in the villages of Nyeu, Asisi, and Mijale within Jihwa Parish, Adjumani District, I have dedicated myself to a simple but powerful mission: protecting our environment by transforming the way we cook. As a Climate Action Champion with Friends of Zoka, I have seen firsthand how our reliance on traditional three-stone cookstoves, which consume excessive firewood and fill our kitchens with smoke, harms both our health and our forests.

WESTNILE - As the global community rallies under the banner of World Environment Day 2026, focusing on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience, a quiet but devastating crisis is unfolding in northwestern Uganda. The West Nile sub-region is currently ground zero for an acute form of climate injustice where those least responsible for global emissions are paying the ultimate price with their livelihoods, their environment, and their fundamental human rights.