Ama, The Butterfly Keeper by Sylvia Agamah-Ochidi

'Ama, The Butterfly Keeper' was written on the background of the current global issue of Climate Change. Temperatures are rising, weather is becoming more extreme and less predictable, and drought is an increasing danger for African communities. Climate Change may seem like something distant and abstract, but it’s very real and it impacts every one of us. African women in rural villages are currently suffering a troubling phenomenon. Streams are drying up. Crops are failing, and they are being forced to travel farther and farther away from their villages to gather firewood and fetch water.

The faceless character in this short awareness creation fiction, Ama, represents every rural woman in Africa who is confused about the negative changes in the environment caused by toxic wastes and Climate Change. She had an unusual encounter with a talking owl who told her to alert the villagers of the dangers of toxic wastes flowing into their environment to destroy animals and trees. Ama kept the information to herself. Her silence represents many people who think that Climate Change is not real or true. Fifteen years later, Ama and other villagers suffer the negative impact of toxic wastes and Climate Change. This book was written to trigger the right ACTION. Silence is a wrong action against environmental hazards and Climate Change.

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Sylvia Agamah-Ochidi is a prolific writer, graphic designer and brand expert based in Abuja, Nigeria.