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NATO and Poland Say Missile Strike Likely Accident; Brazilian President Wants 2025 Climate Summit in Amazon; China Urges Calm after Deadly Missile Incident; NASA Launches Historic Spacecraft; Going Green: Lake Victoria. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 16, 2022 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its illegal war
against Ukraine.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deadly missile strike in Poland likely an accident. We have reporters covering the story
from all angles. In Ukraine, Poland and at NATO headquarters.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: America's comeback starts right now.
KINKADE (voice-over): Former U.S. President Donald Trump announcing another bid for the presidency.
Does he still have what it takes to win the White House?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE (voice-over): And it's been a wonderful moment for space enthusiasts. NASA's Artemis launch was loud and proud and is now headed for
the moon.
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KINKADE: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
We are learning more about the missile that landed in Poland near the Ukrainian border, killing two people. The growing consensus is that it is
not a Russian attack on a NATO member but an attempt by Ukraine to defend itself. The latest voices to endorse that theory, Poland's president and
prime minister, as well as NATO secretary general.
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STOLTENBERG: Our investigation into this incident is ongoing. We need to await this outcome. But we have no indication that this was the result of a
deliberate attack. We have no indication that Russia is preparing offensive military actions against NATO.
Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was most likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile, fired to defend Ukrainian territory
against Russian cruise missile attacks.
But let me be clear. This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine.
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KINKADE: Jens Stoltenberg added that one of NATO's priorities now is to give Ukraine more air defense systems. On Tuesday, Russia unloaded its
biggest round of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in weeks.
An American official saying the Ukrainian military informed the U.S. and allies it tried to intercept a Russian missile around the time and place of
that Polish incident. CNN's Melissa Bell has the latest, reporting from NATO. She joins us live from Brussels.
Sam Kiley is in central Ukraine.
Good to have us both with us.
We want to start with you, Sam. This is a Russian-made missile but it's now believed to have been fired from Ukraine as they were trying to defend
themselves from this onslaught of missiles from Russia.
What more can you tell us?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in all probability -- and that hasn't been confirmed yet, that this was probably,
because we've seen them in use around Lviv and all over the country -- the S-300 surface missile, a kind of 1970s updated piece of technology.
A very large missile, not very sophisticated and not very effective. But according to the Ukrainian authorities, there were 13 cruise missiles that
targeted the city of Lviv alone during yesterday's storm of missiles. Three got through. The other 10 were destroyed.
Now according to Ukrainian officials, who've switched from blaming Russia to accepting that this may well have been a result of a surface-to-air
missile engagement, that the resulting deaths in Poland may have been caused by a Ukrainian missile.
But they point out this could have been because it was bringing down a Russian cruise missile or because it missed a Russian cruise missile, much
like Jens Stoltenberg has been keen to say; Secretary Austin, too, in the United States.
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KILEY: The Ukrainians are saying the original sin lies with Russia and this massive wave of cruise missile attacks, more than 85, according to the
government, fired. That is on top of other missiles being fired in battle spaces here, which number on a daily basis, sometimes in the hundreds.
So it's a very dangerous part of the world in which these very primitive missiles the Ukrainians are using to defend themselves. Now they are also
saying they need more of these NATO standard missiles.
The United States pointing out the ones, modern ones, they have supplied have been 100 percent effective. I think, perhaps, the fallout from this
will be that there will be an accelerated program to get into Ukraine a sort of anti missile systems, the anti aircraft missile systems that they
need to protect themselves, particularly as things are improving for them on the ground.
KINKADE: Thanks to you, Sam.
I want to go to Melissa Bell for the NATO response. Melissa, had this been a Russian fired missile, this would have been an attack that would've
triggered a response from NATO.
How is NATO responding now that there is this belief that being established that this was a missile fired by Ukraine's anti missile defense system?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jens Stoltenberg, as he made that announcement, took that preliminary conclusion who explained it
was time and important that NATO allies remain calm and carefully coordinated.
Their words and actions should now be in line and measured, in line with that finding that this appears to have been a tragic accident. Sam was
saying this is something we hear from officials here.
What it will tend to do is focus the minds of those NATO allies, who, perhaps haven't been as forthcoming with the kind of missile defense
systems Ukraine has been asking for as they might have been.
We haven't just been hearing from Jens Stoltenberg as he came out of that NATO ambassadors meeting this morning that was called because of this
emergency. But there was a long planned meeting being chaired by the American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that is ongoing, virtually, a
virtual meeting of the Ukraine contact group that is held regularly in the open.
By speaking of the fact that since the last meeting of the group, several other NATO countries have agreed to give Ukraine some of those much needed
missile defense systems.
Of course, if anything, the last 24 hours have showed us how important it is that Ukraine gets better systems than it has in order, also, that these
kinds of mistakes don't take place. Also, because of the nature and size and scale of the attack that we saw on Tuesday night.
So there is likely to be a push to get them more of what they've been asking for, in terms of NATO. What they're saying here is, even if these
incidences tend to show or highlight some of the divergences within those NATO countries close to the borders, calling for things like no-fly zones
and greater, more offensive action, others urging more caution, there has been a very united response to this.
It has been measured and calm, but, again, focus being on that preliminary investigation. The conclusion that could be drawn in order that there was
no escalation where no escalation was needed, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right, Melissa Bell, we will check in with you again, soon.
We want to bring in Matthew Chance because this missiles struck a town about six kilometers inside the Polish border. The Polish president has
responded.
What is he saying?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's saying a couple of things. First of all, playing down the idea that this was --
which was, of course, the concern that this was a Russian missile that had been ordered to attack a NATO country's territory.
That is something that everyone, led by the Polish president, is backing away from. He is saying this was a tragic accident, because two people were
killed, of course, two farmers of this village here near the Ukrainian border inside Poland.
They were killed when they were just going about their business in the daytime yesterday. He is saying there is no sign -- this is President Duda
saying this -- there is no sign there's going to be a repeat of this sort of attack, as far as they can tell.
And there is no immediate danger to other Polish citizens. Having said that, he still ordered for the security of the Polish armed forces to be
stepped up in this region. We are seeing a lot more Polish troops come to this area, just a short distance away from the Ukrainian border, of course.
And remember, there is still that ongoing investigation taking place on the ground. A couple hundred meters away from here, we can't get to it because
there is a piece of blocked off road. But still, specialists on the ground, forensic teams piecing together.
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CHANCE: Literally, the bits and pieces of the rockets or the missiles they are finding to try to determine with a high degree of certainty who fired
them and where they came from.
But as you've been reporting, the general sense, at the moment, is that it was a Ukrainian anti missile defense system weapon that was fired to knock
out a Russian missile.
The context of that, of, course is when this happened, this occurred, Russia was bombarding Ukraine with dozens upon dozens of cruise missiles,
other kinds of ordnance as well. And the Ukrainian military was desperately trying to defend its own citizens. That's the context that this took place
in.
KINKADE: It is good to get that context. It's great to have your there inside Poland. Matthew Chance, our thanks.
Thanks also to Sam Kiley in Ukraine and Melissa Bell in Brussels.
We are going to stay on this story. I want to bring in Kestutis Budrys, he's the chief national security adviser to Lithuania's president.
Good to have you with us.
KESTUTIS BUDRYS, CHIEF PRESIDENTIAL NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, LITHUANIA: Excellent to be here.
When we first learned of this missile strike, there were concerns this was a missile fired by Russia, the precedent of Lithuania saying, and I quote,
"Every inch of NATO territory must be protected."
This could have been a serious escalation of this war.
BUDRYS: Yes, we have the NATO alliance and, each time we meet, it was last time when we met this alliance in Madrid, we declared that NATO is here for
protection of our populations.
It means that we have to protect our territory and our people inside the alliance and that's what we are for.
Of course, this situation where we found out yesterday was a very new element that brought us, as our president said today and described the
situation, it brought us to the new phase of this illegal and brutal war.
In this phase, we have victims of NATO member states, in the territory of NATO. It means that we are even in a more dangerous situation at best.
KINKADE: As you point out, NATO secretary general ultimately blamed Russia for this.
How does the West get Russia to stop?
This certainly would not have happened, has it not been for this Russian aggression.
BUDRYS: Yes, you are absolutely right. There is a clear causal link between the attack on the civilian infrastructure that happened yesterday
and many days before that. That is a war crime in itself. And the incidents that we just recently had.
What we have to do, we have to do the same as we are committed. We are committed yesterday, so, we have to do the same today. To support Ukraine,
provide more military assistance to Ukraine, provide more air missile defense to Ukraine and also put bigger pressure on Russia's regime to stop
this war.
And forms of this pressure, first of all, is sanctions. As NATO alliance, we are also don't have to forget the primal mission of our alliance. It is
deterrence and defense. So we have to increase the defense of NATO and especially on the eastern flank and of the territory and also of the
airspace.
So what we are also calling to do is to implement the decisions we made at the Madrid summit a couple of months ago and to strengthen the integrated
air missile defense on all the eastern flank.
KINKADE: Ukraine's president has laid out a 10-point peace plan.
From the perspective of Lithuania, what needs to happen to begin those peace talks?
BUDRYS: Same as President Zelenskyy described it. Very clearly, first of, all Russia has to stop all the aggression. That it started, its leadership
started. Then withdraw all the forces from Ukraine territory up until the borders that are internationally recognized.
And then Ukraine's side can set the conditions for further discussion so on the terms. What is not needed at this time and where we made the mistakes
before that and not once and not only related to the war against Ukraine, we don't need fake cease-fires, we don't need the vague agreements that are
not based on the international security guarantees.
Then what is needed for Ukraine, security guarantees that it won't repeat in the near future.
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BUDRYS: That Russia wouldn't use this time for regenerating its forces. And it would draw assessment (ph) it would take less time than it's
normally perceived and then we come with another energy and attack Ukraine again.
Yes, the critical factors are still there. Those critical factors are imperialism of Russia, aggressiveness of its activities and the will to use
military means to achieve political goals, as crazy as they might be.
KINKADE: When Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia in September and Russians started fleeing Baltic states, including Lithuania,
said it wouldn't take in Russians fleeing, with the exception of human rights defenders, et cetera.
Will that policy continue and can you explain it further?
BUDRYS: Yes, Lithuania was among the first countries that ceased issuing visas for Russian citizens to enter Lithuania and for the tourist purposes
and for other purposes, except humanitarian ones.
We continued with this policy and also encouraged our partners to do the same. So our mobilization was announced and when there was bigger interest
of Russian citizens, so males, who were obliged to be (INAUDIBLE) and more mobilized, we just repeated what is our position.
We won't open our borders to those fleeing Russia and upwards, there was another additional reason for it. We do not see the attempts to avoid
mobilization as to be humanitarian grounds and a reason to leave the country.
It has to be in a bigger package that comes with, first of all, with the refusal to support the Russia aggression against Ukraine. So if you woke up
one morning and found that you are the one to be called to the war, it is not enough to be the reason to leave the country.
As the proof of, it we see the situation, for example, and enabling other countries like Kazakhstan or Armenia or others, where Russian citizens left
and how they react to the war against Ukraine.
So it's more private interests than the public interests to stop the Russia's regime and to stop this illegal war. So we will continue on that
and that's all there is during (ph) the same direction.
KINKADE: Kestutis Budrys, the chief national security adviser for Lithuania, thank you so much.
BUDRYS: Thank you.
KINKADE: Still ahead, a U.S. former president sets his sights on the White House again. America first, illegal immigration and a border wall -- we
will have the latest on Donald Trump's 2024 candidacy.
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KINKADE: "America's comeback starts right now." With that, former U.S. President, Donald Trump, announced his bid for the White House for the
third time. The 45th president touted his achievements before a crowd gathered at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Tuesday.
He promised to make America great and glorious again and rallied against President Joe Biden, saying America is in ruins, with crime, inflation and
a war. The reality is Trump faces some daunting legal challenges and investigations and a number of Republican opponents. Kristen Holmes joins
us now from West Palm Beach, Florida.
Good to see you there. So lackluster, low energy, just some of the ways this presidential bid was described last night when he made his
announcement. Certainly, the crowd didn't seem as energized as they have in the past at various rallies.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, particularly the former president himself. He described it as presidential but it seemed a lot, as
you mentioned, more like lackluster. He was very subdued. He didn't stay on message, something that is very rare for Donald Trump.
He was not these two plus hour ramblings that we've seen, really, across the country in the past several months as he's been putting on these
rallies. And it was a different crowd.
It was not a traditional rally crowd, which are the base here. It was people who were members of his club, people from around Florida, as well as
aides, advisers, allies, people who have been with him, many of them since 2016.
Now I was told by a number of aides and advisers they had hoped he actually wouldn't announce this early; at least, wait until after that Georgia
Senate runoff, telling him the Republican candidate, Herschel Walker, if he lost, they would blame former president Donald Trump.
Now obviously, he did not heed that advice. There are multiple reasons for. This partly to pivot away from those legal troubles that you mentioned, the
federal investigations. Also, to freeze the Republican field.
There was a hope that if Trump announced this early, he would essentially scare off other candidates who wanted to run for the Republican primaries.
If that is actually effective, it's pretty unclear right now.
We've heard from a number of those 2024 potential candidates who are still saying that, no matter what Donald Trump does, they will enter that race.
KINKADE: All right, Kristen Holmes, we will check in with you again soon. Good to have you on the story for us today. Thanks so much.
John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, says he has resumed talks with his Chinese counterparts at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Negotiations
between the U.S. and China, the world two biggest polluters, are key to any agreement to combat climate change.
China had cut off talks in August to process Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Negotiators at COP27 are trying to hammer out a new global climate
deal before the summit ends on Friday. CNN senior international correspondent David McKenzie has been tracking the actions for us at COP27.
He joins us now.
So the U.S. and the E.U. have agreed to discuss loss and damage, so the highest polluting countries giving some sort of compensation to help the
lowest polluting countries deal with the ramifications of a climate crisis.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have agreed to talk about it. That was the big news on the first day of the
climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Which we reported. On
Now, there hasn't been a concrete sing there will be concrete action taken on that so-called loss and damage issue.
In fact, a European Union representative who is directly engaged in those negotiations say it's unlikely that the E.U. the U.S. and the U.K. will
want to sign up to any specific plan to facilitate money going to developing nations for the impact of climate change.
We saw the terrible floods in Pakistan, the ongoing drought in the eastern Horn of Africa. These are the kinds of calamities that are made worse by
climate change. And nations that can at least afford it are being hammered the most by it.
That's why this very important issue is on the table. But at least, according to that official speaking to CNN, it doesn't appear they will
have anything concrete out of it at these meetings.
KINKADE: David, Brazil and the U.S. meeting on the sidelines coming after Brazil's new leader said he would make the climate crisis a focus.
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KINKADE: What more can you tell us about those talks?
MCKENZIE: Well, it does point to a shift, obviously, geopolitically when it comes to Brazil. With president Lula da Silva, president-elect now,
winning that very tense race in Brazil.
It means that you are likely to see a refocus, a new vision from the Brazilian president coming back in. He is promising zero deforestation in
the years ahead. President Bolsonaro, his predecessor, of course, was much more ambivalent about the climate crisis.
He famously didn't even attend the meetings in Glasgow last year. And there was a dramatic increase, according to scientists, of deforestation during
his tenure.
Countries like Brazil, the Congo and the Congo basin and those countries surrounding these rain forest areas around the planet, are incredibly
important when it comes to mitigating the climate crisis. But what they need is funding for an alternative to deforestation.
They say they need funding, because why can't they develop resources like other nations?
But from Lula, as he's obviously known in Brazil, he is making a much more aggressive push toward being a leader in combating the climate crisis.
KINKADE: McKenzie for us, reporting from Johannesburg, thank you so much.
Still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, China is calling for calm over that deadly missile incident in Poland. A look at where Beijing stands on the
war in Ukraine, next.
Plus, a giant leap forward in lunar exploration, as NASA's Artemis I mission takes flight. But it wasn't without some setbacks.
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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade at the CNN Center. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Good to have you with us.
Poland says a missile incident near its border with Ukraine was likely an accident. Two farmers in a rural village were killed when the missile hit.
Poland president believes it was a Russian-made missile from Ukraine's air defense system that went astray.
And initial NATO assessment backs that account. NATO's secretary general says it's still Russia's fault because Ukraine was defending itself of a
barrage of Russian missile strikes on Tuesday.
The G20 summit in Indonesia has wrapped up, with most members strongly condemning Russia's war in Ukraine. China was there and it is asking for
cool heads to prevail after the missile incident. Take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Under the current circumstances, all parties concerned need to stay calm and exercise restraint to prevent
further escalation.
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KINKADE: Beijing also announcing Chinese president Xi Jinping will meet in person for the first time with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida. Tokyo
is saying the face to face talks are set to happen Thursday on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Thailand. That expected meeting coming amid
tensions in Asia over Taiwan and North Korea.
CNN Selina Wang joins us from Beijing.
Good to have you with us, Selina. Much debate on the wording of that G20 statement, condemning Russia's war in Ukraine. In the past, China has
refused to call out Russia's aggression, never using the word war and amplifying Russian propaganda, blaming NATO and the West.
What is China's stance right now?
Has it changed at all?
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, even after a string of meetings with Western leaders at the G20, it's still unclear if China has
shifted its position at all. What we do know is, as we say, China's leader, Xi Jinping, has called for a cease-fire, agreed to oppose the use of
nuclear weapons during his bilateral meetings but so, far he has given no public indication of any commitment to persuade Vladimir Putin to end the
war.
Beijing has, from the start, refused to label the conflict as an invasion or war. To your point, has amplified Russian propaganda, blaming the
conflict on NATO and the U.S., while opposing sanctions.
We saw from the readouts, the post meeting readouts, that, when discussing Ukraine with U.S. President Joe Biden and with French president Emmanuel
Macron, she stuck with the careful terms like, the Ukraine crisis or the Ukraine issue and again, avoided the word war.
Take a listen here to what French president Emmanuel Macron said about his meeting with Xi.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): The meeting allowed us to discuss in more details the situation. I'm convinced that
China can play a more important mediation role in the months to come; in particular, to prevent the resumption of stronger land offensives.
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WANG: So what we're seeing is China trying to thread the needle here. Experts I speak to say China is trying to maintain its sympathy to Putin's
position while avoiding an international backlash or sanctions from that partnership with Russia.
At the same time, though, China does not like seeing the U.S. boost alliances in response to Russia's actions. If we step back and look at the
key takeaways from the G20 for China, the big key takeaway is that Xi is very much back on the world stage.
While his meetings with global leaders didn't lead to breakthroughs, they did at least started to thaw very frosty relationships. French president
Macron said he intends to visit China at the beginning of 2023.
U.S. officials say U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken's visit to China's is planned for early next year as well. These in-person meetings in
China are a big deal, because for so many years, the zero COVID restrictions in China have prevented a lot of these in-person bilateral
meetings.
In addition to that, the U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told CNN that formal climate talks with China have restarted. That lifts a months long freeze on
negotiations between the world's top two polluters.
This is an early sign of concrete results from the Biden and Xi high stakes meeting. So it is fair to say, Lynda, that the outcome of the U.S.-China
talks at the G20 have exceeded expectations.
KINKADE: All right, Selina Wang, we will touch base with you again soon. Thank you so much.
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KINKADE: Let's get you up to speed on some of the stories on our radar right now.
A U.S. military official says the self detonating drone hit an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday. No major damage reported on the ship, which
is affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. There has been no claim of responsibility. Similar attacks in the past have been linked to Iran.
The manager of Iran's men's football team says his players can show their support for women's rights in their home country while they are playing at
the Qatar World Cup. But their protests have been in line with (INAUDIBLE) rules. The tournament kicks off on Sunday.
Elon Musk has given Twitter employees an ultimatum: commit to a new hardcore Twitter or leave. He has sent out an email outlining what he
expected from staff, including long hours and exceptional performance.
Those who don't commit to the new plan will be let go with three months severance.
An historic mission to the moon blasted off Wednesday morning.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, boosters ignition and liftoff of Artemis I.
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KINKADE: The Artemis I rocket finally launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 1:47 am, local time. The unmanned test flight will
travel around the moon before returning to Earth in about 25.5 days. This is the start of NASA's eventual plan to return astronauts to the moon.
CNN correspondent Tom Foreman joins me now from Washington.
Tom, certainly, a great deal of relief, no doubt, that we finally saw liftoff.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, It's amazing. I could watch that video all day long. You're right. We are getting people up to speed. Think
about. This rocket, the most powerful one ever built, accelerated to roughly 27,000 kilometers per hour in just a matter of minutes, with 8.8
million pounds of thrust.
This is absolutely remarkable, a huge amount of energy being expended there. To launch this historic mission, this is really the first rocket
we've ever had that was entirely designed for genuine interplanetary travel.
That's not what it's doing right now. Obviously, it's going to fly up to the moon, roughly 27,000 -- 270,000 miles away, something like. That it's
going to travel -- or 270,000 miles away. It's going to get up to the moon, loop around the moon, it will come about 60 miles of the moon's surface at
one point.
And on board, they have, at this, case mannequins which will be outfitted with sensors to get an idea of what it will be like when humans follow on
the next flight that will go close to the moon, with humans on board.
Then, the next one, which theoretically will put people on the surface of the moon in 2025. So that would be about 50 years since the last time
people walked on the moon.
What is the purpose of this amazing spacecraft, this amazing mission to the moon?
The idea behind this is to get back on the moon, to explore the things we stopped exploring way back then; the idea of whether or not you can create
some sort of sustainable lunar base up there, that plans to try to plant trees, the land closer to the pole, where they have more indications of
water, to see if that water can be harvested.
In some way, that would help support human life, on the lunar base station. And that lunar base station becomes a perfect training ground to look at
the idea of going on to Mars or to other planets. So truly, a historic day today and we will be watching every minute of this flight until Artemis
comes back down.
KINKADE: Very exciting, 25 days ahead, Tom Foreman. Good to have you with. Us thanks so much.
Still to come, as the World Cup in Qatar counts down to the first match, an incident involving a Danish television crew is raising some serious
questions. We'll have details in our "WORLD SPORT" update, next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
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KINKADE: This week our "Going Green" series is highlighting young activists who are taking some of the world's biggest environmental
challenges on. Today, we travel to Kenya to meet a teenager working to protect Africa's largest lake. Larry Madowo reports.
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RAHMINA PAULLETE, KISUMU ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPIONS (voice-over): I am from the indigenous community in Lake Victoria and I have grown up seeing Lake
Victoria as it has been changing. That is why I am saying that we need to restore the ecosystem.
My name is Rahmina Paullete. I am a 16-year-old climate activist, environmentalist and conservationist.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With tributaries that flow into five East African countries, the Lake Victoria basin is home to around
40 million people. It is also home to the largest freshwater fishery in the world. But now, this incredible resource is under threat. And this young
activist wants to save it.
PAULLETE (voice-over): The situation is really bad. That pollution, the water hyacinth. Mainly fish, especially indigenous fish, are decreasing in
the lake.
MADOWO (voice-over): In 2019, Rahmina founded the organization Kisumu Environmental Champions, which works to restore and protect the lake.
PAULLETE (voice-over): We do cleanups and communities sensitization on proper waste management. Our main objection for this is to bring out
awareness to solve the climate issues.
MADOWO (voice-over): In an effort to improve water quality and the declining fish population, Rahmina spends a lot of time removing the
invasive water hyacinth. But nothing goes to waste with this conversationalist. After harvest, the stems and leaves are trimmed and
dried and then woven into an array of items at her home workshop.
PAULLETE (voice-over): We are making a range of products from the hyacinth. Plus, it saves money. We can generate income at the end of the
day.
MADOWO (voice-over): But weeds are not the only problem. Trash also impacts Lake Victoria's waterways and shorelines.
PAULLETE (voice-over): We are at (INAUDIBLE) in Kisumu doing a cleanup and we are hoping that from this (INAUDIBLE) we are able to show many people
that the little things you do can make a great difference.
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KINKADE: For more stories like this, you can visit cnn.com/goinggreen.
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