In 2023 and 2024, Kisarawe District in Tanzania experienced heavy rainfall and flooding due to the return of the El Niño phenomenon, affecting both the short and long rainy seasons. The floods severely damaged farmland, crops, roads, and housing, disproportionately impacting families reliant on smallholder agriculture. Children and their families faced a range of economic and non-economic losses, including reduced household income, food insecurity, disrupted education, psychosocial distress, and the loss of family members. Schools were often repurposed as temporary shelters, forcing children to miss classes, while many households relied on children to support income through petty trade. The floods also exposed communities to water-borne diseases, and limited communication from local authorities left many unprepared to respond to climate-related hazards. National climate action plans, including Tanzania’s National Adaptation Plan and Nationally Determined Contributions, largely overlooked child-specific needs, leaving gaps in targeted support for children affected by loss and damage.
To respond to these challenges, Plan International Tanzania and the Sharon Ringo Foundation implemented the “Combating Climate Change for the Future” project. The initiative combined school-based training, tree planting, and Village Loan and Savings Associations (VLSAs) to build awareness, resilience, and climate action capacity within communities. School-based training equipped students, teachers, and local officials with knowledge on climate hazards, emphasizing the disproportionate impacts on children, including those with disabilities. Tree planting fostered active participation in climate mitigation, while VLSAs strengthened household resilience by promoting savings, livelihood diversification, and small business development. These interventions were designed to complement government efforts and create locally led, child-responsive solutions to both sudden- and slow-onset climate events.
A child-centered approach was integral to the project. Activities were designed to engage children through play, creativity, and peer-to-peer mentoring, ensuring their active participation and fostering a sense of agency in climate action. Special attention was given to girls, children with disabilities, and marginalized youth, enabling them to contribute to flood preparedness, early warning systems, and anticipatory action planning. Through these efforts, children gained the skills and confidence to respond to future climate hazards while mitigating psychosocial impacts such as anxiety and trauma.
The project helped families meet immediate needs and maintain children’s access to education. Provision of child-friendly food, sanitary kits, and mattresses addressed short-term welfare, while VLSAs and entrepreneurship training enabled parents to repair homes and generate alternative income. School-based training and awareness campaigns strengthened psychosocial resilience, equipping children with knowledge, tools, and confidence to navigate emergencies. However, the project faced limitations due to insufficient funding, restricting its ability to fully address economic losses, disrupted education, and emotional impacts across the district. Many children and schools remained unsupported, and the full scale of loss and damage could not be mitigated.
The Tanzania case underscores the critical role of international and local NGOs, child- and youth-led organizations, and community-based structures in responding to climate-induced loss and damage. It highlights the importance of empowering children as active agents of climate action and fostering locally led, child-responsive interventions. At the same time, the project revealed significant funding gaps and barriers to scaling interventions. Transparent, accessible, and sustained climate finance, including dedicated Loss and Damage funding with direct access for NGOs and community-based organizations, is essential to expand coverage, support long-term resilience, and ensure that children and families can effectively respond to climate change impacts.
