About 83% of children in 15 countries report witnessing climate change or inequality, or both, affecting the world around them daily.
Below is a glimpse into the actions and thoughts of some of the children combating the climate crisis.
Krishna, 17 – A Climate Activist from Bihar, India
Krishna, 17, lives in a slum community on the outskirts of the city of Patna in the state of Bihar, India. At 17, he is already a force for good in his community and an inspiring activist.
The image above shows Krishna, a 17-year-old activist from a slum community on the outskirts of Patna, India, preparing for a puppet show. He likes to raise awareness about climate change in different ways – for instance, by campaigning and going door-to-door – but acting is by far his favourite.
Krishna set up a street theatre group with children in his community to help raise awareness about issues like water shortages, E arth Day and extreme weather through plays and puppet shows. “At the end of our play, we spread the message about how water and greenery are related to life and how they are a necessity,” Krishna explains.
Krishna has suffered first-hand the consequences of extreme weather. One morning in August 2019, he woke up to a flooded home. The water had rushed in during the night, destroying the homes and belongings of hundreds of families living in his community.
“Our houses were flooded and clogged with that water for about a week. For the first two days, the water inside the room reached up to our waists,” Krishna remembers. Having received training from S ave the Children on how to respond to floods, Krishna was able to call for help. He believes we must all take action to curb climate change: “It is not what we should do; it is what we must do. We are talking about our future, so everyone will have to do it.”
Oriana*, 15 – A climate activist from Northe de Satander, Colombia
Oriana* is 15 years old. When she was a baby, her family fled violence in Venezuela. Now, Oriana* lives in a small village on the outskirts of a Colombian city near the Venezuelan border with her mother, stepfather, and three siblings – a 13-year-old brother, a 10-year-old sister, and a seven-year-old sister.
For most people, plastic bottles are nothing more than rubbish. For 15-year-old Oriana, a fervent climate activist, they are precious: once filled with sand, they can be used as bricks to build eco-friendly houses. When she was 11, Oriana helped other children and women in her village in Colombia to build such a house called – “Chica Street”, pictured below – built with over 500 bottles. “It was difficult,” Oriana says. “We were up until late, and we had to bear the mosquitoes bites and the tiredness and so on, but we kept building.”
Looking forward, Oriana dreams of building an association of empowered female artisans who build ecological artefacts by recycling materials. She wants to run workshops to help people gain awareness about the damage humans are doing to the planet and the solutions to combat further environmental degradation: “I would like adults to learn that we can do many things with the stuff they throw away.”
Esther, 17 – A climate activist from Zomba, Malawi
Esther, 17, lives in Zomba in Southern Malawi.
In the photo above, 17-year-old Esther shows us one of the trees she has planted near her home – a small act that she feels more people should do to mitigate climate change. Esther is well aware of how our actions directly impact the climate. She explains: “There is loss of habitat for the animals because of deforestation and the houses may be flooded away because the trees can support the soil, holding the soil together. So when there are no trees, when heavy rain comes, the soil will be eroded away with heavy rains.”
Having witnessed her home collapse – while she and her family were inside – Esther knows only too well how disastrous floods can be. “The house of my parents fell down because of that rain weather. The crops in the fields of my parents have been eroded away because of that rainy weather.” Since becoming a climate change champion, she has worked with people in her community to replant trees and raise awareness about the climate crisis.
Sara*, 15 – A climate activist from Gaza, occupied Palestinian territory
Sara* is 15 years old and lives in a refugee camp in Gaza. Life is hard in the camp: it’s crowded, noisy and there are frequent water and electricity shortages. Sara*, who loves nature, laments that children in the camp have no access to green spaces. To tackle climate change, she believes we need to connect to nature, raise awareness and take small actions that will make a big difference, like planting trees. has a dream of being a Minister of Environment when she’s older.
Sara* is 15 years old and lives in a refugee camp in Gaza. Life is hard in the camp: it’s crowded, noisy and there are frequent water and electricity shortages. Sara*, who loves nature, laments that children in the camp have no access to green spaces. To tackle climate change, she believes we need to connect to nature, raise awareness and take small actions that will make a big difference, like planting trees. has a dream of being a Minister of Environment when she’s older.
