LONDON: Senegalese singer-songwriter Baaba Maal on Monday was named a goodwill ambassador for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
Maal has long been an activist on climate change and refugees. Since 2003, he has been committed to various development challenges in Africa, working with different UN family organizations.
His NANN-K Trust recently opened a solar-powered irrigation project in Senegal to fight desertification, which is one of the main drivers of people leaving the country on dangerous migration routes. The project will train people to start similar projects in their own communities.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Maal said he is a believer in putting power in the hands of young people and women.
“We are tackling climate change impact, but also fighting desertification on the African continent, especially in my region where we are just not far away from the desert and we see it coming to us,” he said.
“And it had an impact because people who don’t get more opportunities to do agriculture, fishing and many more will have to run away from their places, go to the big cities where nothing is planned for them there, and then later on, some of the young ones will just take the boats to go to Spain or some of these places or just try to cross the desert and it’s really dangerous. We did lose a lot of lives.”
Brought up in the small town of Podor in north Senegal, which has a fishing community at its heart, Maal was born into a fisherman caste and was expected to follow that career path, but he befriended storyteller and musician Mansour Seck, and has spent his life performing, traveling and raising awareness about the issues his homeland faces.
“Our role is first to give news about what’s going on, because sometimes the local people, they don’t know what’s happening to them is the impact of climate change. They don’t know how to stand up against that. But at the same time, when they know about it, they will say what to do,” he said.
The veteran musician released his first album in seven years, “Being,” on March 31 and will headline the Barbican in London for the first time in 20 years on May 30.
Senegal musician Maal named UN ambassador on desertification
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Senegal musician Maal named UN ambassador on desertification
- Maal has long been an activist on climate change and refugees
Portugal storm death toll climbs, 450,000 without power
- Storm Kristin brought heavy downpours and strong winds, reaching speeds of up to 178kph, on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday
LISBON: Storm Kristin has claimed five lives and left nearly 450,000 clients without power on Thursday, more than 24 hours after it barreled through central and northern Portugal, authorities said.
The storm brought heavy downpours and strong winds, reaching speeds of up to 178kph, on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The fifth victim, whose death was announced on Thursday, was a 34-year-old man who died in the center of the country “as a result of the severe weather,” according to civil protection officials, who did not provide details.
Almost 450,000 customers were still without power early Thursday, mainly in the center of the country, according to E-redes, the electricity distribution network operator.
The majority were in the Leiria district in central Portugal where the storm knocking down poles and high-voltage lines.
Rail services remained suspended on several lines, including Lisbon to Porto, according to the state-owned rail company.
Several schools in the central part of the country remained closed.
Firefighters in Leiria responded to dozens of calls Thursday morning related to minor flooding and damage to roofs, regional official Ricardo Costa told the Lusa news agency.
“Residents are calling for help because it’s still raining, although not very heavily, but it’s causing significant damage to homes,” he added.
The Portuguese government said the storm had “caused significant damage across several parts of the country.”
