The Business of Life with Dr King

Why Women’s Leadership And Early Climate Education Decide Who Thrives with Amb Ruby Kryticous (Zambia)

• Dr Ariella (Ariel) Rosita King • Season 2025 • Episode 52

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A backyard mango tree with only four fruits shouldn’t tell a global story—but it does. Ambassador Ruby Kritikos joins us to connect the dots between extreme heat, shifting winds, and the quiet collapse of everyday nutrition, then widens the lens to storms that level coastlines and budgets. We talk plainly about climate justice: who gets the funds, how fast they arrive, and whether reconstruction restores dignity as well as roads and schools. Ruby brings hard numbers and lived experience from Zambia to COP30 corridors, insisting that pledges must translate into food on the table and safer homes.

We dive into why women’s leadership changes outcomes, not just optics. Representation shapes priorities—health systems, housing, anti-corruption—and accelerates policies that protect children, coastal communities, and those living closest to risk. Ruby reframes feminism as collaboration rather than competition, drawing men and boys into the work of building resilient systems. Civil society takes centre stage as the bridge between plans and practice: local groups collect ground truth, elevate youth innovators, and make disaster preparedness tangible, as seen in the Philippines where planning saved lives.

Education threads through everything. Start climate learning early with observation and art; scale to data, humidity, and precipitation in later years; move science into gardens so knowledge travels home. Youth projects spark real change—from plastic bricks and bottle-top murals to river clean-ups that protect fishing livelihoods. We also explore indigenous knowledge and carbon balance, the costs of charcoal-driven deforestation, and unexpected innovations like turning sugarcane waste into compostable eco-fabrics. Packaging shifts to plant-based materials show how industry and policy can reduce microplastics without slowing growth.

Ruby closes with inclusion at the core: sunscreen as essential health for persons with albinism, feeding programmes for children with hearing impairments, and a reminder that climate risk is a health, education, and equality issue. If we want a future that works, funding must reach the front lines, and leadership must measure success by safety, access, and shared prosperity. If the conversation resonates, follow the show, share this episode with a friend who cares about practical solutions, and leave a review telling us one change you’ll start this week.

Music, lyrics, guitar and singing by Dr Ariel Rosita King

Teach me to live one day at a time
with courage love and a sense of pride.
Giving me the ability to love and accept myself
so I can go and give it to someone else.
Teach me to live one day at a time.....


The Business of Life
Dr Ariella (Ariel) Rosita King
Original Song, "Teach Me to Live one Day At A Time"
written, guitar and vocals by Dr. Ariel Rosita King

Dr King Solutions (USA Office)
1629 K St, NW #300,
Washington, DC 20006, USA,
+1-202-827-9762
DrKingSolutons@gmail.com
DrKingSolutions.com


Dr Ariel King:

Well, and welcome to another episode of The Business of Life with Dr. King. Today we have a very special guest from Zambia, Miss Ruby Kryticous. Hello, welcome.

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

Thank you, Doctor. How are you? Wonderful. Could you please tell our audience about yourself and what you do? No, thank you so much for this platform, Dr. King. My name's Ambassador Ruby Kryticous. I serve as the vice president of the Alpha Team organization in the Philippines. I also currently serve as the acting CEO for the Green Agriculture Youth Organization here in Zambia. And I serve as a global advisor for a Billion Strong Foundation in the USA. So I am an international advocate looking at the positions I serve. And I drive passion and, of course, community service with the impact of bringing equality and equity, both in social justice and, of course, in general in our community.

Dr Ariel King:

My goodness, you have so many roles. That's absolutely incredible. So let's get into our discussion today about climate change. So I'll let you take it over and ask you questions as we go.

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

No, thank you so much, Dr. King, for that opportunity. I am glad we're really talking about the issue around climate because I think we have seen that we have all been directly or indirectly affected by climate change. We have seen the hurricane Melissa that recently happened in hitting Cuba and other Southern American countries. And we have seen that women and children have been vulnerable in this calamity or disaster. And we really want to see solutions that are more prone and more action-driven, especially where climate disaster is really a worry. We are currently seeing that COP30 is underway. COP30 represents 30 years of partners talking about climate solutions, but have we reached that signage? The answer is no. According to the International Climate Monitoring Organization, 2024 was actually one of the highest years ever recorded pre-industrial time. And we're seeing this climate change increasing. It's a climate hoax or it isn't climate. But we are facing this hazard, I would call it, because remember, it is happening everywhere, whether it is the US, whether it is Africa, whether it is South America or Asia. We are all feeling the burnt. In Zambia in 2024 and 2025, we had the worst drought in 40 years. So you can see these patterns really changing. And it did affect food security because climate does wipe out also biodiversity, for example. And this is not something you can create in a lab, you know, and it's back to life. It takes years, and sometimes those species are lost. Just recently, we saw that we have seen the decrease in insect species. There are over 1 million species that have gone extinct due to high temperatures and heat. And this also includes migration, insects, for example. Currently here in Zambia, we have just started the rainy season. So part of the rainy season sign is we have termites that come out from the ground and fly. So now because it is too dry, the termites, not all termites, have come out, I think. I haven't caught any yet because these are local delicacies, because um it's something that for a long time local people have eaten because it's what comes out and it's in season and it's it's quite bouncy. So the impacts of climate change has really affected produce as well. Because I myself am not a farmer, but I'm a barkyard farmer. I have planted some crops and fruits, but I have also seen that the yield this year has not been very well. Why? Because this year we've also experienced high winds. High winds blow away petals, for example, the flower that comes out to produce that fruit. So if there's too much wind, those petals will drop and there won't be fruit. It is sad that my little mango tree only has four mangoes on it. So that shows you that this is not something that is made up. This is something that I have seen, I have practiced, and I have come to reveal to say, you know, if the winds are too high, you know, petals will drop. When petals drop, meaning there's no food. And if we look at it in a rural setup, people depend on rent-fed either agriculture or local produce for that particular season. So if, for example, trees or mango trees are planted in a rural area, chances of them having little or no mangoes is very high because that is simple food they can get if it's in their backyard, you know. That is something if it's in excess, neighbors will share. But if there's no nutrition food for rural people to enjoy, then the impact of food security becomes really high because they depend on it more than anything else. They may not even have money to afford a mango, which may cost maybe $2 or so on the market, you see. So that also brings a disadvantage to either nutrition and of course benefits. What are we calling organic? If we want to call food organic, what are what are we driving where change is concerned, where food security is concerned? So those are some of the things we can really connect climate to, and of course, bringing climate and policy and of course equality. And one important thing is that we want to see women running key positions. Last year we only had, I think, five women representatives at the COP. And of course, according to data, only 65 countries have uh submitted their NDCs to COP. And this year we're we are hoping to see the climate fund and of course pledges really increase because last year we only saw $700 million being pledged. But did that money really go to the people that really needed it? The answer is I don't I don't think so. And of course, you are also looking at the impact of the devastation where climate change hits, because if, for example, Carrick and Melissa hit Jamaica, hit Cuba, and part of Southern America, you're talking of three countries that have been in devastation with this disaster. And you're looking at over millions and billions of restoration. If you look at part of the southern of Jamaica that was really wiped, especially the coastal area, was completely wiped out. You're looking at infrastructure being built, roads being built, schools being built, electrification being built. And this doesn't happen in two months, you see. This is something that needs to be gradually put in place. And if there is no finance to rebuild this, the most vulnerable people, such as Jamaica, which is a poor or developing country, will lack behind with infrastructure and of course putting equality and justice towards climate.

Dr Ariel King:

I think it's so interesting that you said there was only five women there. Can you give us more information about that and how are people either elected or how do they go there? And why do you think that the participation of women is so important in this issue?

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

Overall, around the globe, especially I would talk about Africa. In Africa, currently, there's only been five to eight percent of presidents that have currently served or have served before. And you're looking at having 50, 54 countries. So already that is 0.5% of women's leadership, if I may say. So we are we are at a stage where we are starting to believe the power of women ruling and of course being the country's leadership and of course leading policies. We just saw the new president in Namibia, who is who is a female president who was just elected. And we are now seeing it now happening in the southern, in the global south, for example. But we haven't seen many representation in other in other African countries, and of course, we are looking at the European countries as well. South America, I think that's Argentina, if I'm not mistaken, also had a female president being inaugurated. So we are seeing the trend, but we we still want representation. Because remember, when women are leading, I think we lead with purpose. We lead with vision, we lead with compassion, because we have seen how men in power have really distributed their visions. Yes, we want development, but is the development really driving for everybody, or is development more individually manipulated by either corruption, either through mishandling of fans? Because these are the same fans that are needed in order to drive governments. You're looking at healthcare systems, you're looking at housing, for example, you're looking at job creation. So these are really important components that really drive development in a country. But we want to see more women representatives really driving the climate agenda and of course ensuring that the vulnerable people, which are the children, the marginalized communities, the communities on coastal lines are really protected because we are not protecting them. Because if the policies and are just paper-driven and not action-driven, it really becomes difficult to really ensure that good governance plays a critical role in ensuring that we are really developing agendas that align with humanity, compassion, development. We really need to pull our teamwork together because I think the notion that really drives women leadership down is most of the people see feminism as just for women. Feminism is for women, yes, because we want more women to come on the table. We want to bring a platform such as this one to have women really drive their story, drive their agenda. But at the end of the day, feminism is not competition. Feminism is about collaboration, it's not competition. That's why we need men to be part of this building of the society. If men are not part of the building society, then we are still driving men away from the inclusion of development. So when we talk about gender equality, it's not just about women. Men, women should be part of this agenda for development. Girls and boys should be part of the agenda of development. It has more women and girls. Why? Because they are the most vulnerable. In African countries, you will find that education is mostly pushed for boys than girls. And even in leadership, it's mostly for men because he's powerful or he may have more financial independence. But at the end of the day, we really need to bring both genders together if we want to fight gender equality.

Dr Ariel King:

I think this is such a good point. And can you tell me what is the role of civil society in actually bringing this about?

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

No, civil society does play a critical role because they bring it from the ground, from the bottom up, because they will have the information. They are on the ground, they will tell you what is happening on the ground, what system is this, what system that can be designed for a particular community to thrive. Civil society brings out innovations from young people because they they may not come on platforms such as these, you know, to have an opportunity to share their innovation, which has the potential to either create impact and also create change. But it is through civil society that enlightens and identifies young people, young women who are doing amazing things in their community and shining the light to what their ideas are and what impact they can bring when they have civil society and private sector together, either sponsoring these innovations to drive change. So civil society does play a critical role, including climate education, because if we're if the community is not educated about how to deal with climate disasters and preparedness, you will see that there is a huge number of loss of lives. But if you look at what happened in the Philippines, Philippines had a disaster management system in place. The very few deaths that they had due to the disaster was either people or individuals that didn't want to leave. But those that were forcibly removed, they had a high survival rate. But when systems are not in place, like I mentioned, it's really difficult to have a successful rate where disaster impact and, of course, disaster management can be really something that we can really talk about. And not only that, we have to really ensure that policies are put in place. Without policies, we can't create impact because remember the policies create impact. The impact creates evaluation. Evaluation also creates a success because it gives you information of what has happened, what has transpired, where did we go wrong, where have we done better, and how can we improve? So that's how we can really drive the climate change with all stakeholders on board if we really want to fight climate change now.

Dr Ariel King:

That is so interesting. May I ask for young people, and we're talking about climate uh education, you know, just in general for young people. Can you tell us more about where you think that should start and how should that be rolled out so our young people are more informed about climate, climate change, and the innovations that they can possibly make in order to change what's happening now?

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

No, thank you so much. I think climate education should be started very early because when you enlighten children, they get to know. We have designed programs that are very unique to even young learners in primary school, uh, where we have taught children how to illustrate through paintings and drawings what is climate change. Because remember, they feel it. They may not know what it is, but they feel it. They know it is too hot, it is too cold, I'm freezing, you know, they're able to tell simple signs. And then as you go gradual to tertiary education, now it becomes more complex. You are looking at monitoring systems, you know, you're looking at our atmospheric conditions, our humidity, our precipitation in local regions. So now that becomes more complex. But when you start it at a younger age, they send this information home. And for us, it has been very successful because I have been teaching climate education for the past five years now, plus, and we have brought it to the children. We are now using it to teach agriculture. We're using outside learning classes such as STEM gardens, to it has actually also improved how children learn and understand science, uh, because we also teach them parts of the flower and why parts of the flower are important. I just said the flower is important because it gives a fruit. So it it now enhances the knowledge and connecting the gaps, where in class it is just about memory, but outside it's about the physical learning, the identifying and observing of learners to really transform this information to take it back home. And it's about ensuring that we are impacting this important knowledge so that young children can really embrace it and also be leaders and stewardships of the environment.

Dr Ariel King:

It makes such a big difference, doesn't it? Having our young people as a part of this. Can I ask, how about connecting community service to this, like young people helping to clean up plastics, understanding how or what to do with plastics, understanding the oceans and so on and so forth. Can you speak more on that?

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

No, thank you so much, Dr. King. For us, we've I actually just was part of the program that hosted the first ever Kids Climate Festival. And this Kids Climate Festival brought in children from different schools, local schools and urban schools, and we gave them a project to say, bring anything you can drive climate to and come and present. And it was really amazing to how the children really reconstructed climate into their own understanding, from irrigation to because here in Zambia, we don't have oceans, for example, but we are a landlocked country, but we do have water bodies. So we taught them the importance of cleaning up these water bodies because some of the communities that live around these streams and rivers rely on fishing as their form of livelihoods and income. So if there is no fish, what happens? There's starvation. If there is no if there's no fish, she can't go to school or cannot buy books, you know. So those are some of the linkages we bring into light when we're talking about pollution. And of course, young people really need to save the environment. It's not just about cleaning, it's maintaining the environment and ensuring that we do not pollute the environment. One of the projects that we have currently worked on is recycling. We are now creating some kind of bricks formed in plastic. So we collect the plastic and then we mold them into mini bricks, or we make something usable like bins from drinks, drink containers, for example, that are consumed in a school, and showing the children that, you know, they can really make anything out of what they don't use again. So it's about reusing, reducing, and recycling. We had an amazing project where we picked up buttertops of different colors. And to you and I, they may not make sense, but the vision that I had was children to interpret it to through art. And they made flowers out of buttertops, you know. So uh so that is some of their creativity we can bring around in times in terms of recycling, upscaling, and of course reducing the plastic pollution. I was vulnerable actually to be part of a project called recycling using plant-based products. And majority of the time, indigenous knowledge has played a critical role in either uplifting or reducing our life expansion, I would say. So, for example, in Zambia, we are we are we demand a lot of chaco, for example, due to power deficit. So the chitmena system is called the chitamene system where wood is cut and it's baked and it's later used for charcoal. But that has negatively impacted communities in those areas because one, they do not have shade, two, they soil erosion. Three, the community land is unfertile and is not good for growing certain crops. So that brings in a deficit when it comes to certain areas that can produce more food. And secondly, we're also looking at now we are talking about okay, there's a carbon footprint or carbon capture. Carbon capture is the more trees you have in a particular area, removing all the unnecessary gas that consumes and destroys either the plant or the atmosphere. So we now see the the critical play where the community and the environment really need to coexist in order for it to bring balance. Because if it doesn't coexist, this is where we have negative impacts like droughts, fermentes, and floods, because floods negative impact because they wash all the natural microbes that are needed to grow food, for example. So we really need to bring this co-balance. It's not just about conservation, but allowing biodiversity to thrive, bringing in life. The other project that I wanted to talk about, for example, was sugarcane. Majority of farmers burn the fiber or the leaves of the sugarcane, for example, for many years. But now we've seen technology that can revamp and dry those leaves and create cotton. Cotton to be used in fabric. So now this becomes organic fabric, eco-fabric in the fashion industry. So when it's left in in whether it's discarded or on the ground, it decomposes naturally. But when you leave silicon and nylon in the ground when we discard unwanted clothing, it takes years, for example, to decompose. So it's really another way of bringing more sustainable ways into our living in order to pollute less, because we are polluting more than we are protecting. And not only that, packaging, for example, we eat a lot and consume a lot in terms of consumable products, including juices, cookies, even our own computers made out of plastic. You know, if you count the number of things that you consume or have, you will really be amazed to say, okay, I'm actually also a pollutant. So because it really drives knowledge, it really opens up your eyes to say, okay, how do I reuse this? How do I consume this? Or how do I dispose of this? So it's about ensuring that even the packaging industry starts using plant-based products, for example, that can even if it's disposed of or it blows off the garbage trucks, it will decompose and not leave microplastics which affect either the birds or with whether it affects the microbes in the ground. So we do not want to lose anymore. I think we have lost a lot already, but it is how we start to rebuild now.

Dr Ariel King:

I think that's so important. So tell me, you're such a busy woman. What will you be doing in the future? Can you tell us some projects that you'll be doing in the next, either this year or the beginning of next year?

Amb. Ruby N Kryticous :

No, thank you so much. In in the future, I think there's so many I want I want to do. Of course, my main project I'm currently working on is to is a paper interlinking the impacts of climate change on persons with albinism. I picked up this project because it is very, very important to a friend of mine, and she's had very difficulty in terms of living in our world, for example. Persons with albinism have no menolin, so they cannot control ultraviral or ultraviolet rays, so which means they are prone to skin cancers because of the high heat temperatures. And in rural areas, it's even worse because you'll find that these skin diseases or skin skin disorders happen and they do not pay attention and they end up escalating into cancers. And by the time they go for medical treatment, it is too late. So we want to see how we can interlink that to climate change and bring policy around that. I was glad just a few months ago when we spoke about inclusion and driving climate action, the UN actually endorsed sunscreen as no longer a cosmetic but a medical cream that is needed. Because remember, in African countries or poor countries, uh sunscreen is very expensive. Not everybody can afford. And that's what we are trying to do to distribute sunscreen to persons with albinism, especially schoolgoing children, so that they're protected from the sun and are not sunburned. And not only that, we still want to continue raising the campaign of one book, one pencil to promote education. And of course, we are still doing feeding programs for children who are of hearing impairments. I look after 500 children who have a hearing impairment, and now I'm learning sign language, so I know how to say sign, to sign my name and greet. And so this is thank you. So this means thank you in sign language, and this is happy. You mean you're happy? Yeah. So that though those are some of the interactions I put myself in the community to serve with purpose. Where community service is concerned, I've been serving for two decades now. I started when I was 16 because I found a passion to really help someone in need. And for me, that grew because I wanted to see someone at least better than they were. And if I had one more, I could share. And this is some of the things that we can even teach our children. Racism doesn't come from nowhere. It is something that we brew. But when we start to teach children that you and me are the same, the color of your skin doesn't matter, you know. From kindergarten, we all sit in one room, you know, we all share food, we all play with toys. Why should it change when we become teenagers? Why should we change when we become political leaders? You know, we shouldn't divide communities, but instead we should build communities together through compassion, through driving impact, because when you benefit, I benefit. When you grow, I grow. So the the nature of Ubuntu should always follow us everywhere we go because I am because you are, you are because I am. So building that should still continue, even today. I want to see a generation that fights for equality and of course builds a future for the children today, because we can't be leaders if we cannot start making solutions today. We cannot wait for tomorrow because a child may be lost today and it's on our hands. So it is up to us to really drive change together, and it begins with you and me.

Dr Ariel King:

I want to thank you for such an amazing interview, and I'm looking forward to another time with you. And I want to thank you for being with us. No, thank you so much, Dr. King, for having me. And to our audience, remember if I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, then when? That's by the philosopher Hillel. And I've added, if not me, then who? Thank you so much for joining us.