
Colette B. Ramazani
Colette B. Ramazani is an inspirational speaker and author, born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At an early age, she was fascinated by the beauty of the environment. She particularly likes flowers, trees, mountains, and bodies of water. She LOVES nature. It was because of her passion for nature that she decided to write Lily and the Gift: Planet Earth to share her concern for our planet and ways in which we can take care of it.
Colette often has speaking engagements about the rights of women, children and their safety. She is also fluent in five languages. Colette earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Studies and a Master’s of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University in the United States.
She is also the author of Tell This to My Mother by Joseph E. Mwantuali. It is a story about her life and is published in both English and French. Colette lives in beautiful Manchester, New Hampshire, United States of America.

Q&A
Most frequent questions and answers
I would be very satisfied if my readers realize this planet Earth we all call home is a special gift given to us by the Creator of all: “God”. This gift is very precious and fragile. Especially now, in the 21st century, this gift is under threat by climate change. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the cries for help from our mother planet, and we need to care for it with love.
Our planet Earth is speaking to us with a unique language. It’s warning us that it’s suffering from many kinds of destruction, including rising temperatures, hurricanes, wildfires, water shortages, floods, famines, and so forth. Our planet Earth has given us life. Now it’s time for us to care for it. To show some love and protect it for the next generation who will call it home. Climate change is real, and it’s already in action.
I was born in a region of green nature in central Africa. I have always thought of where I grew up as heaven due to its extraordinary beauty. Bukavu was my native city, located in the South Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bukavu was situated in a valley, surrounded by Lake Kivu, the Ruzizi River, and beautiful mountains. The city had the nickname, “Bukavu la Verte,” which means, “Bukavu, the green”. But it’s not like that anymore.
Since 1996 to today, the valley was destroyed by an unending war. This caused a mass migration from the villages to Bukavu, which overpopulated the city. Most of the trees were cut down to make shelters.
Years later, I was living in America. One day, while sitting on the couch, I imagined a little girl named Lily who was taking care of anything she collected from nature. At the time, I saw myself in her. When I was her age, I similarly would take care of flowers, trees, and other natural elements.
My attachment to nature started when I was a kid and has never stopped. My love for nature is what I inhale with every breath. Now, as an adult, when I see how our beautiful planet Earth is under attack by climate change, I’m heartbroken. Inspired by the concern of losing our home due to climate change, I decided to be a voice for this beautiful voiceless home, Planet Earth, and care for it. I believe climate change is preventable but only if we humans take action and change our behavior in how we treat our home.
My hope is that readers will learn how valuable planet Earth is to all living creatures. Earth is a gift that humans cannot replace because humans did not create it. As readers learn how we inherited, and became citizens of, this planet Earth, I hope they will fall in love with nature as much as I have.
In addition, I hope readers will understand that climate change is real. It’s a severe problem and it’s only getting worse. The threat it presents to humanity is undeniable and catastrophic.
Most of all, I hope readers will consider the danger of losing our beloved home due to climate change. After all, we humans are responsible for protecting planet Earth from harm and saving it for the next generation.
From when I was a kid, I was fascinated by the beauty and wonder of nature. I loved to play in the rain and the trees. I loved to jump in the rivers. I loved to spend time in the garden. I loved to climb the mountains and to see the beauty of the valley. I enjoyed picking up mushrooms in the forest. While in the rainforest, I enjoyed listening to the soft sound from birds, ants, animals, rivers, rain, and leaves. This was a beautiful melody to my ears. I admired the beauty of the valley full of flowers of different colors. I have loved to live in harmony with nature since an early age.
I loved visiting gorillas in Virunga National Park and Kahuzi Biega National Park. I visited the very tall Mountain Nyiragongo, an active stratovolcano. These places were not far from Bukavu, which is situated near the southern end of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border in Central Africa. I could never imagine the world without these elements around us.
Now, to see what is happening with climate change around the world, my heart breaks. I’m concerned that these natural calamities threaten our planet Earth. I feel pain seeing our Earth suffer from disasters, disappearing slowly day by day. The love I have for the magnificent beauty of our planet influences my personal writing.
When we look at what’s happening in the world today, with the steady rise in temperature, it’s hard to ignore the problem any longer.
When the rain stops falling, it’s a problem. For example, during the summer of 2020, the heatwaves and drought threatened much of the state of California in the United States of America! It’s a serious problem.
During 2021, floods threatened several countries in Europe. Citizens were forced to seek shelter in very inhumane conditions and many lost their lives. That’s a problem.
Today, some nations in the world are dealing with climate exodus. More inhabitants in some regions are fleeing from this real environmental disaster than ever before. These are the signs of climate change. It’s disrupting lives.
No doubt, this planet Earth we call home is telling us loudly that climate change is here. It is here to destroy our beloved home, planet Earth. If we don’t act fast, it may be too late. Changing our behavior, and improving the way we interact with mother nature, is the only solution to protect and save our beautiful planet Earth.