HERMON ASMERON G

My name is Hermon Asmerom G. I am an Eritrean. My story of climate change activism started off in a mesmerizing way. Just like any other ordinary child, I loved nature and flowers. However, as I grew older things took a wild turn. One morning I woke up to see my best friend, she was one I loved most , went under her for shade as I played with my toys, no more: she was gone. I felt devastated and heartbroken like I was struck by lightning. My best friend was a mango tree, the best tree ever - and one that I got mangoes from. But now she was gone, just because our neighbors wanted to put up a shop. It was at this point that I promised myself that I would take care of Mother Nature and protect other more trees. Climate change and nature destruction were not distant threats, but already threatening our lives, our livelihoods, our cultures, ecosystems and human rights.

My astonishing journey started here as I moved to Uganda. There I pursued my passion in debate, poetry and public speaking. And using my skills, I was able to participate in many climate change campaigns and write about climate change, and inspire others to join. I then decided to take action and learn more about climate change and what it meant for me, my community and my country. I wanted to walk the talk and inspire others. I was able to spearhead a bootcamp at the American Center to teach young girls who have not got an opportunity to learn about STEM, robotics, coding and programming. 

And currently, I am the Captain of the Uganda Robotics Team, with Apps and Girls and First Global Challenge. Together with the team, we have been able to design a robot that helps in picking plastics and we intend to improve it further to another level, so it can do complex tasks and help in recycling.

In a nutshell, I want to say climate change is not a distant threat but also an opportunity. An opportunity to transform our world, create a more sustainable equitable, resilient future in which we can unleash our potential.

#Lets save the planet now to survive tomorrow.

You can read more about Hermon Asmeron and her colleagues' work on robotics and STEM from their trip to Geneva - see here!