Chhaka is campaigning against use of plastic and deforestation in Nepal and pushing for local authorities to become better at preventing floods and landslides.
31-year-old Chhaka is energetic, social and good at campaigning. He has received an award for this from Mission East’s local partner in Nepal, KIRDARC.
As Climate Champion he meets like-minded people from other Mission East self-help groups to discuss climate and environmental issues and plan campaigns.
This is where Chhaka now uses his energy and expertise.
Prevents landslides and minimizes plastic
His group has, for example, collected signatures on a petition, which they have handed over to the local government. The petition asks that they can become better at coordinating landslide prevention and floods with other actors and also allocating more money for the effort.
They have also campaigned against the use of plastic in the village of Unapani, where Chhaka lives with his wife and three children. As he says:
“The plastic in our village is bad for our health!”
Cleans up the village and saves the forest
In addition, he coordinates a major clean-up campaign.
“We can recycle some of the waste in the village as fertilizer in the fields,” he says.
Chhaka has also been involved in launching a campaign on the value of the forest and the dangers of deforestation.
For the sake of the children
“My focus is the children. If the forest is destroyed, so will the children’s future. It is important that we stop deforestation. The population in the village is increasing, and it risks destroying the forest,” says the climate champion.
Climate Champions are selected from among the self-help groups that Mission East supports in Nepal. The individuals are selected from both women’s, youth and agricultural groups, as well as groups for people with disabilities and their families.
Mission East works closely with the Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Center (KIRDARC) in Nepal.
