{"id":59303,"date":"2025-10-08T08:54:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/?p=59303"},"modified":"2025-10-15T09:00:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T09:00:47","slug":"a-new-generation-committed-volunteers-serving-their-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/blog\/59303\/a-new-generation-committed-volunteers-serving-their-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"A new generation committed: Volunteers serving their communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-query posts-list p4-query-loop is-custom-layout-list is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow\"><ul class=\"wp-block-post-template is-layout-flow wp-block-post-template-is-layout-flow\"><li class=\"wp-block-post post-58711 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-inspirethemovement tag-forests tag-greenpeaceafrica tag-drc p4-page-type-press\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/press\/58711\/travel-diary-from-the-heart-of-the-congo-basin-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples\/\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/08\/6c937047-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image wp-stateless-item\" alt=\"Travel diary from the heart of the Congo Basin: voices and hopes of indigenous peoples\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/08\/6c937047-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/08\/6c937047-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/08\/6c937047-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/08\/6c937047-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples-453x340.jpg 453w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" data-image-size=\"post-thumbnail\" data-stateless-media-bucket=\"planet4-africa-stateless\" data-stateless-media-name=\"2025\/08\/6c937047-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-terms\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/category\/issues\/inspirethemovement\/\">Inspire the Movement<\/a><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag wp-block-post-terms\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/tag\/forests\/\" rel=\"tag\">Forests<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/tag\/greenpeaceafrica\/\" rel=\"tag\">GreenpeaceAfrica<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/tag\/drc\/\" rel=\"tag\">DRC<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/press\/58711\/travel-diary-from-the-heart-of-the-congo-basin-voices-and-hopes-of-indigenous-peoples\/\" target=\"_self\" >Travel diary from the heart of the Congo Basin: voices and hopes of indigenous peoples<\/a><\/h3>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">In August 2025, Greenpeace Africa led an exceptional expedition to the heart of the Congo Basin, to the villages of Lokolama and Penz\u00e9l\u00e9, as well as to Mbandaka, in Equateur Province. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group posts-list-meta is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><span class='article-list-item-author'>Raphael Mavambu<\/span>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2025-08-26T05:03:08+00:00\">26 August 2025<\/time><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons carousel-controls is-horizontal is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-044bd602 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button carousel-control-prev\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\">Previous Carousel Slide<\/button><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button carousel-control-next\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\">Next Carousel Slide<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/2c13ede4-image-1024x577.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/2c13ede4-image-1024x577.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/2c13ede4-image-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/2c13ede4-image-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/2c13ede4-image-1536x865.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/2c13ede4-image.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p>On August 6, 2025, in the neighboring villages of <strong>Lokolama<\/strong> and <strong>Penz\u00e9l\u00e9<\/strong>, a wind of hope blew among the youth. Greenpeace Africa organized a meeting there to<strong> raise awareness and mobilize young people around volunteering and civic engagement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Building the future through youth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>A total of <strong>22 young graduates<\/strong> participated in this session, coming to listen, debate, and learn how to become agents of change within their communities. The history of Greenpeace, its values, its mission, and its victories were shared enthusiastically by the volunteers in attendance.<\/p>\n\n<p>This meeting highlighted a simple truth:<strong> forest protection cannot succeed without the energy and creativity of young people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image-1024x577.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image-1024x577.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image-1536x865.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image-510x287.jpeg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/77dea793-image.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Volunteering as a lever for action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The discussions provided a concrete explanation of what it means to be a volunteer for Greenpeace Africa: giving your time, raising awareness among your peers, organizing local activities, and bringing the voices of indigenous peoples to public spaces.<\/p>\n\n<p>Inspired by the stories and experiences shared, several young people saw volunteering as a unique opportunity to make a positive contribution to their communities.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cWe don&#8217;t want to remain spectators. We want to take action and be useful to our villages and our forests,\u201d said a young person from Lokolama, with the approval of his peers.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image-453x340.jpeg 453w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/553b5106-image.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A decisive step towards engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>At the end of the meeting, <strong>15 young people<\/strong>\u2014<strong>13 from Lokolama<\/strong> and<strong> two from Penz\u00e9l\u00e9<\/strong>\u2014expressed their desire to join the Greenpeace Africa volunteer network. This is a powerful decision that marks the beginning of a new local dynamic.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Young ambassadors for the forest<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>These new volunteers are now<strong> ambassadors for a conscious and committed youth<\/strong>, ready to build a more just, united, and environmentally friendly society. Their involvement will be an essential driving force in inspiring other young people and strengthening community resilience.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image-1024x577.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image-1024x577.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image-1536x865.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image-510x287.jpeg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2025\/10\/98e8fa9e-image.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A total of 22 young graduates participated in this session, coming to listen, debate, and learn how to become agents of change within their communities. The history of Greenpeace, its values, its mission, and its victories were shared enthusiastically by the volunteers in attendance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":59311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[24,46,47],"p4-page-type":[126],"class_list":["post-59303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspirethemovement","tag-forests","tag-greenpeaceafrica","tag-drc","p4-page-type-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59303"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59323,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59303\/revisions\/59323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59303"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=59303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}