At Truth Alliance and the Fair Start Movement, we believe that behind every climate statistic is a human being.

A child.

A family.

A farmer.

A community.

A future that deserves to be protected.

Across Africa, people are already living with the consequences of a changing climate and environmental degradation. Droughts are becoming harder to predict. Water sources are disappearing or becoming harder to access. Families are struggling with food insecurity. Farmers are facing changing conditions that affect their livelihoods. Some communities are experiencing displacement, pollution, loss of land, or the destruction of places and resources that have sustained generations.

And children are growing up in the middle of these changes.

For many communities, these are not distant climate scenarios. They are lived realities.

That is why we are asking you to share what you know.

We are seeking affidavits and firsthand evidence

The Fair Start Movement (FSM) is seeking people with relevant firsthand knowledge, experiences, observations, or evidence who may be willing to provide an affidavit in support of its petition before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACPHR).

We are not looking for perfect stories.

We are looking for truthful experiences and facts that can help tell the bigger story.

You may have personally experienced environmental or climate-related harm.

You may have witnessed changes in your community.

You may have worked with families, children, farmers, displaced people, or communities affected by environmental challenges.

You may have records, photographs, reports, research, or other evidence that helps document what has happened.

Your experience may matter.

What are we interested in hearing about?

We welcome firsthand accounts concerning the ways climate change and environmental degradation are affecting:

• Children and young people
• Families and communities
• Agriculture and livelihoods
• Food and water security
• Land, forests, wetlands, and other natural resources
• Displacement and loss of homes or community resources
• Pollution and environmental damage
• Cultural heritage and traditional ways of life
• Community health and wellbeing
• Local efforts to respond to environmental and climate-related harm
• The conditions being inherited by future generations

You do not need to be a scientist, lawyer, politician, or climate expert.

You simply need to speak honestly about what you know and what you have experienced or witnessed.

Behind every statistic is a person

Climate discussions can sometimes become dominated by numbers.

Degrees of warming.

Tonnes of emissions.

Hectares of forest lost.

Millions of people affected.

But numbers alone cannot always show what those changes mean in someone’s daily life.

What does it mean when a family can no longer depend on a water source they have used for years?

What does it mean when a farmer can no longer predict the seasons?

What happens when environmental degradation takes away a community’s livelihood?

What happens when children inherit environmental problems they did not create?

And what happens when the loss is not only economic, but also cultural—the loss of land, traditions, knowledge, or a way of life?

These are human experiences, and they deserve to be heard.

We are looking for facts, not speculation

If you decide to provide an affidavit, we want your account to be based on what you personally know, experienced, observed, or can document.

For example:

• What happened?
• Where and when did it happen?
• What did you personally observe?
• Who was affected?
• How did it affect people’s lives or livelihoods?
• What changed over time?
• Is there documentation or other evidence supporting your account?
• What did individuals or communities do in response?

You do not need to determine the legal meaning of your experience.

Tell us what happened.

The legal and human-rights significance can then be considered in the appropriate context.

Why are we asking?

The Fair Start Movement’s petition before the African Commission raises important questions about human rights, environmental protection, climate justice, accountability, and the protection of future generations.

It also calls attention to the need to better understand and respond to climate-related loss and damage and the consequences faced by African communities.

Supporting affidavits can help bring more firsthand experiences into the factual record.

They can help ensure that the voices of people living through these realities are not lost behind statistics, policies, and institutional language.

Your story could help others be heard

Maybe you are a farmer who has watched the seasons change.

Maybe you are a community member who has seen a water source disappear.

Maybe you have worked with children affected by displacement or food insecurity.

Maybe your community has experienced the loss of land, forests, wetlands, or other resources.

Maybe you have spent years documenting environmental changes.

Maybe you have witnessed something that you believe decision-makers need to understand.

We want to hear from you.

Your experience does not have to be famous.

It does not have to be extraordinary.

It simply needs to be relevant, truthful, and grounded in what you know.

How to participate

If you believe your experience or evidence may be relevant, please send us a direct message.

We can discuss whether your experience may be suitable for an affidavit and explain how you can participate.

You do not have to have all the answers.

Start with what you know.

Start with what you have seen.

Start with what happened to you or your community.

Because climate justice is not only about the planet.

It is about people, dignity, rights, accountability, and the future we leave behind.

A fair start for future generations

At Truth Alliance and the Fair Start Movement, we believe that where a child is born should never determine how much their life, dignity, or future matters.

The children of Africa deserve a future in which environmental protection, opportunity, dignity, and human rights are not privileges reserved for some.

The decisions being made today will shape the world inherited by tomorrow’s children.

So we are asking communities, researchers, advocates, farmers, young people, civil society organizations, community leaders, and individuals with relevant firsthand knowledge:

What have you seen?

What has changed?

Who has been affected?

What evidence can you share?

Your experience can help put a human face on the climate and human-rights challenges facing Africa.

Your experience matters.
Your evidence matters.
Your voice matters.