From October 24 to 26, 2024, the UNDP Rome Center and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security organized the Youth4Climate Call for Solutions event at the Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy. The outstanding event brought stakeholders from the UNDP, UNDP Rome Center, and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security to celebrate the 50 2024 Youth4Climate Awardees for their commitment to addressing the climate crisis in their communities.
During the ceremony, our Founder and CEO, Joseph Turay, and about 29 of the 50 2024 Youth4Climate Awardees were present to collect their awards. The Youth4Climate Award, which comes with funding and technical support from UNDP Rome Centre and the Government of Italy, will enable Route 360 Solutions Initiative to carry out a climate resilience project in the Kroo Bay, Cockle Bay, and Susan’s Bay informal settlements in Freetown City, Sierra Leone.
The project communities above are vulnerable to climate disasters. Our CEO lost his home and dropped out of school while living in Kroo Bay during his childhood due to a community-wide flooding caused by intense rainfall and poor waste management. Kroo Bay, Cockle Bay, and Susan’s Bay were not randomly selected as beneficiary communities; they were purposely chosen for their climate vulnerability compared to other communities in Freetown City and Sierra Leone.
Our Founder is so elated to learn that two of his childhood communities will benefit from the project. We are grateful to the UNDP Rome Centre and the Government of Italy for providing us with funding and technical support to empower marginalized groups and communities in Sierra Leone.
