Like mother LIKE DAUGHTER

The old saying 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' certainly applies to these pairs!

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‘WEIWANT TО МАКЕ A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD'

Mikaela Loach, 26, from London, is an author and climate justice organiser on the front lines of the climate movement.

I was brought up by women who could not sit still when they saw people struggling. My grandma, Laurel, sacrificed some of her teaching salary to help poor students, while my mum, Alcia, works tirelessly in her spare time to help unhoused people. Their 'activism' might look different to the placard wavers in the media, but it's equally as important.

I inherited that drive and ran my first campaign, aged six, baking cakes with Mum to raise funds at schools for people affected by the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. Mum always encouraged me to get involved in issues I felt passionate about. When I was 16, she even came with me to Calais to volunteer at a warehouse supporting refugee communities. It was there that I first met people I saw as activists. I was inspired by how they had created transformational change, but also realised that they were just ordinary people like me.

Having become increasingly concerned by the climate crisis, a pivotal moment came visiting my grandmother's local beach in Jamaica, aged 21. I loved playing on the sand as a kid, but rising sea levels meant that the beach had all but gone. It brought home the impact of climate change, and lit a fire in me that has seen me go on to write and campaign globally.