I wonder if you share my sense of trepidation when you turn on the news?Never before have I used the television mute button with such enthusiasm!
On the surface, our current world appears chaotic and confrontational . . . which, when taken together with the hurricanes and volcanic activity, makes it also seem rather scary.
So . . . how about some good news for a change? I think it's just what we all need.
When we last exchanged ideas we pondered on the crumbling walls of our political and social society.
What I didn't know then was that a special kind of wall is being constructed in Africa, one that's wholly beneficial. It could, in fact, be looked upon as a wall that's coming to our rescue.
No, it's not a stone barrier, nor is it a divisive wall made out of brick or constructed from mud.
This is a wall that is living, growing and uniting, it's a green wall . . . a wall consisting entirely of trees
Since its inception in 2007, this inspired project has spread. It now involves eleven African countries and has already transformed countless lives.
At total variance with Donald Trump's plans for a restrictive barrier along the Mexican border, the Great Green Wall is wholly welcoming.Eventually it will span the entire width of Africa and, from Senegal to Ethiopia, the countries participating are confident that it will help to counter some of the world's most pressing problems . . . problems such as climate change and the current migration crisis.
Not only that, amongst its many other benefits will be the restoration of arable land, the provision of economic opportunities and the stabilisation of communities.
Click here to read the impressive details for yourself.
This ambitious enterprise could be termed a social and economic miracle, one brought about not by man's technology, by quite simply by the unquestionable power of trees.As a wise person once said, 'it's not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of what fits best'.
Trees, as Africa is discovering, not only produce the oxygen that is vital to our existence, but can help our communities to survive if we're wise enough to fit them into our lives.
Could it be that we're finally waking up to our inter-dependence with the living world, our total reliance on the myriad life forms that share this planet?
If so, Africa's Great Green Wall is leading the way, and it's one we all should follow.
So, where should we place our trust . . . in the branches of a poplar or in the hands of a politician?
No, I don't think we need to answer that question!
