‘I, Bongole Patrick, solemnly pledge to make the earth a secure and hospitable home for the present and future generations with all my physical and mental abilities, so help me God.’

For Bongole, the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme did more than just introduce him to other cultures – it inspired him to look at the environment in a totally new way.

The Connecting Classrooms programme creates three-way partnerships between schools in sub-Saharan Africa and the UK. Each partnership consists of three clusters of three schools, one from the UK and two from African countries.

One part of the programme, says Communications Manager Lilian Akot, comes from another of the British Council programmes called Climate Change. The Climate Change programme looks at pressing issues affecting Africa such as water stress and deforestation.

It was at one of the cluster schools involved in the Connecting Classrooms programme – the Mackay Memorial School – that the messages around protecting the environment hit home.

In an open letter to the public, Bongole, a former Mackay Memorial School pupil, highlights the damage humanity has inflicted on the environment and how crucial it is for people to look after the planet.

‘As flies are to wanton boys, so is a human being to the environment,’ he writes, adapting Shakespeare’s words, ‘but [to have] faith in tomorrow requires us to look after our entire environment with much more care and attention than we have before.’  

Urging people to put aside their differences in favour of a common good, Bongole says ‘ideas, strategies and actions have to include everyone, regardless of age, sex, levels of education and social status’.

‘We must first unite as people in our nations and continents and put away any existing social, political and economic differences,’ he says, ‘to address the environmental situation at hand and avert any more damage to the environment as well as protect our children’s fragile future.’

Protecting the environment, he continues, is not only necessary in order to sustain resources, but speaks to the attitude that parents have to their children, governments have to the rulers and leaders have to their subjects.

‘The love that we show to our young children has to be shown in how we protect their future,’ Bongole says. ‘The love of the cultural leaders for their subjects has to be shown through how concerned the leaders are about their subjects’ future.’

The time to act is now, feels Bongole, before it’s too late.

‘For those who are still unaware of how irresponsible and unkind man has been towards his future, allow me to crystallise the upcoming danger.

‘There’s a remarkable change sweeping over the globe and due cause for an alarm as loud as thunder to alert those still ignorant of global warming. This common, but widely disliked term refers to the gradual increase in the world’s temperatures, which has been caused by our continued emission of greenhouse (anthropogenic) gases. These gases have destroyed the protective ozone layer. The effect has been that we experience much higher temperatures than we used to. On top of that, global warming is said to be responsible for floods, tidal waves, hurricanes and tsunamis which have killed many, destroyed homes, devastated families and had terrible consequences for both wildlife and marine life.

‘If this is what is taking place, humbly ask yourself who is responsible. What can we do to avert more danger?’

For Bongole, the onus of responsibility lies solely at the feet of humankind.

‘To our disgrace we are collectively responsible, through the developments that we have put in place since time immemorial in our efforts to see that we live “happily”. Emission of poisonous gases such as methane, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide through our continued use of fossil fuels has disastrous implications for our environment.’

On top of industry, Bongole notes, continued deforestation, improper waste disposal and poor mining methods have grave consequences for the environment.

Rather than blame people, however, Bongole believes it’s time to find practical solutions. He notes that it’s the youth who must shoulder the majority of the burden and that protecting the environment will need to be legislated if people expect to see any real changes.

‘As humans, with the ability to reason, we have to make good use of our ability to amend our behaviour.’

To read about the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme or the Climate Change programme visit the British Council Africa website. You can also read the latest News in Africa as well as see what events are being planned in Africa.