Philippine environmentalist, Yeb Saňo, is leading the People?s Pilgrimage , a 1,000 kilometer, 60-day trek to Paris to Paris from Rome for the United Nations Conference of Parties summit on the environment .  World leaders will gather in Paris for the COP where they will work on minimizing the effects of global warming and and preventing its disastrous effects.  With the Philippines being extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it makes sense that a Filipino leads this people's initiative to create awareness on environmental issues.

Saňo began the People's Pilgrimage in mid 2015.  He, his brother AG and their group went  to places like the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu and Australia's Great Barrier Reef and did many small ?Climate Walks? in Africa, the United States, Asia and Europe to encourage people to pay attention to the upcoming COP in Paris.  The People's Pilgrimage is organized by Our Voices, a global faith-based organization initiating actions for climate change.  The walk is supported by several environmental groups, including The Climate Reality Project of Al Gore. 

Saňo did a "Climate Walk" in the Philippines in 2014. In his words "Our destination is not only Tacloban. Our destination is the hearts and minds of the nation and the whole world, hearts and minds that can change the world."  The walk was more than 1,000 kilometers from Manila to Tacloban, which was the worst hit area in the country the year before when Typhoon Haiyan lashed through the Philippines. I joined that walk when it passed through our City. I remember that I was in crutches then because of a sprain, but I didn't make that bit of inconvenience stop me from joining the environmental pilgrims.

Before they left Rome, Yeb Saňo and his group saw Pope Francis at the Vatican.  Yeb was holding a copy of Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home), the Papal encyclical on the environment, which the Pope blessed.  This copy of Laudato Si is different because it was handwritten by those who walked with the People's Pilgrimage. Every night, wherever they stopped, one of the pilgrims would write out the words of the encyclical on the notebook that they were taking to Paris. Laudato Si is an appeal from Pope Francis to everyone to be part of the discussion that is shaping the future of planet Earth.

We can all be part of the People's Pilgrimage wherever we are.  You can walk in your community. You can make a statement – big or small.  You can create awareness and make people around you realize that Climate Change is a problem and it is happening now.  For more about the People?s Pilgrimage, go to: http://peoplespilgrimage.org/join-in.html

Photos © by AG Saňo and Albert Lozada