By: Rotimy Djossaya 

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Latin America and the Caribbean region for the first time, together with my colleague Ebrima Saidy, Chief Impact Officer, and I must say that I was impressed and above all full of hope for the generation of children who have been fighting to address the climate crisis  and economic inequality. 

I was able to travel to Guatemala and visit some communities where we work in the department of Quiché, which has a majority indigenous population. The children showed us that they are true agents of change and champions of Generation Hope, Save the Children’s flagship campaign to tackle the connected crises of climate change and economic inequality.This campaign is the result of the world's biggest listening exercise of its kind where Save the Children spoke to more than 54,500 children from 41 countries to learn more about their experiences of climate change and economic inequality, their hopes for the future, and what they think needs to be done to solve these crises. We're working with them across the world to build this better future.  

Voices united like keys of a marimba  

As soon as we arrived in the community, we were greeted by a group of children and their families with great enthusiasm. They have been meeting for two years to learn, discuss and propose ideas to tackle the climate crisis. Their voices now vibrate in harmony like the marimba itself, a musical instrument that is part of their traditions and forms of expression. 

The Generation Hope campaign has been the perfect enabler to create space for communities, families and especially children and adolescents living in areas seriously affected by the consequences of the climate crisis, to react in an organized way and raise their voices to demand attention for those things that most concern them. 

The children of Cunén have joined the Generation Hope campaign with great enthusiasm and at the same time have shared their deep concern about the environmental degradation and climate change which affect all children’s rights described in the Convention on the rights of the Child, right to health, education, protection, participation as well as the right to life.Children have identified that in their community there are many threats derived from climate change, for example, they often see many trucks loaded with felled trees. They have suffered storms that disrupted roads, flooded crops and destroyed the homes of some families. The climate crisis hasled to greater poverty, hunger and displacement in an area that already has serious indicators of extreme poverty and inequalities in the country.  

From the different platforms that the campaign has promoted, children called on authorities to take preventive, adaptation and resilience actions in the face of the climate crisis. 

One of the actions that make me proud is that they were able to go to the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala to hold a conversation with the President of the Environment Commission. Kadir, 11, impressed the attendees by presenting his concerns and proposals to take care of the environment. The children also met with the Vice President of the Republic and led a press conference in which they expressed their concerns, but also their proposals to make the world a better place for all children.This is a perfect example of how children across the world are calling for their right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as recently recognised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child through their General Comment 26.

Resilient families fighting food insecurity  

After visiting Quiché we moved to Nebaj, where we spent time with families who have become food providers for public schools thanks to the community actions promoted from the food security programs implemented together with Save the Children. 

We met Rebeca, a young woman who has  established a small business selling eggs and vegetables, with which she supports her family and fulfills her goals.  

Rebeca, who is a mother of two, has become a voice of hope in her community and an example of resilience.She often says that she was about to migrate when the opportunity to connect with an initiative of local producers emerged, and  managed to instead grow her business  and build new dreams without the need to leave her home, her family and her roots.  

Through the Generation Hope campaign, the technical support of our colleagues in Guatemala and increased investment, families like Rebeca's can find localsolutions; producing and selling their food to schools and contributing to implementing the School Feeding Programme nationwide.  

Our next steps 

The children of Guatemala have inspired us and confirmed our commitment to promoting actions to ensure that more children can be part of Generation Hope, go far and join a more equitable, safer and greener world.The children of Guatemala have shown that they are also part of the generation of children campaigning to change the world.  

Our ambitionOur aspirationis  tosupport  more children in Latin America and the Caribbean and across the worldto be champions of this campaign, sharing  their hopesand transforming them into actions and results from the decision-making spaces.  

Our promise to them is to ensure their demands are heard by amplifying all children’s voices and taking their messages to world leaders, through various initiatives, like our most recent campaign digest, Listen. And Act.    

Together we can campaign for a world that cares for children and their planet; together we will continue to drive a world of #GenerationHope champions!Inaction on climate change is a child rights violation!