Hucknall triplets invited to No 10 to meet the Prime Minister as COP26 ambassadors

Three young Hucknall triplets have been invited to Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue, all aged eight, were all invited to No 10 in the roles as One Step Greener ambassadors.

The three, who all attend Flying High Academy in Hucknall, were chosen to be ambassadors ahead of the COP26 summit due their ongoing work to spread the green message.

The siblings hold regular litter picks around where they live and also put out regular posts and talks about caring for the environment on their YouTube channel, which has around 3,000 followers.

Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson inside No 10Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson inside No 10
Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson inside No 10

Esther Fognue, their mum, said: “They were nominated as three of the 26 ambassadors for the COP26 summit and as part of that, Boris Johnson wanted them all to come to Downing Street for a cultural evening.

"This involved going to No 10 for a reception and then to number nine where we watched climate movies.

"It was amazing, I was so nervous before we went in to meet the Prime Minister but those three weren’t nervous at all.

"Even when we went through all the security checks, their dad and I were thinking ‘oh my god, is this real’ and they were so confident.

Triplets Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue, with mum Esther, outside 10 Downing StreetTriplets Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue, with mum Esther, outside 10 Downing Street
Triplets Waimi, Mbetmi and Yimi Fongue, with mum Esther, outside 10 Downing Street

"One of them turned to Boris Johnson and said ‘I would like to be Prime Minister one day’, I was just shocked at how confident they all were, they were so relaxed.

"And after meeting other ambassadors, they have now got a Twitter account too to help spread their message."

One of the messages they have been getting across to school friends and the wider public lately is about recycling.”

Esther continued: “What they are planning to do is to collect soft plastics from their school, other local schools, and their local church and take them to Tesco because Tesco is currently collecting soft plastics and bags to be recycled.

The children's letter to the council asking for climate change to be taught in schoolsThe children's letter to the council asking for climate change to be taught in schools
The children's letter to the council asking for climate change to be taught in schools

"Waimi in particular is also really keen about climate change being a subject taught in schools, so he’s written a letter to the council asking them to look at getting schools across Nottinghamshire to start teaching children about climate change.”

For more about the children’s work, visit their website here.