Soroptimist International (SI) and Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) members, together with the Ngara Girls High School, Nairobi, mobilised school girls, women and other like-minded stakeholders to participate in a school environment clean-up and tree-planting event, to mark this year’s World Environment Day.
Ngara girls high school is situated right in the centre of the Jua-Kali (open-air) industrial area of Nairobi’s central business region. The school proximity to motor garages, small-scale business artisan trading sheds and an open-air market, attracts a great deal of plastic waste. World Environment Day was a good opportunity to sensitise the students and neighboring communities to the need for clean surroundings and the dangers of plastic waste on the environment. “If you can’t re-use it, then refuse it” was the slogan adopted by over 1200 Ngara school girls during the celebration.
Photo: SI UNEP Representatives, Sophie Koech, and Asha Abdulrahman together with the youngest participant Rahiem, preparing to plant trees.
Ngara Girls High School mounted an excellent rangers, and girl guides guard of honour, for inspection by the invited chief guest speaker. SI and WfWP UNEP Representatives, Asha Abdulrahman, Mary Muia and Sophia Kipkoech, partnered with the School Board of Management, UNEP, UNESCO, Center for Environment Justice and Developmen, SI Union of Kenya members led by President Elect Madam Juliet Wamiri, Kenya National Roll Ball team and the Kenya National Football team. The speakers during the event urged the school fraternity and communities to break up with single-use of plastics and for schools and homes to be free from plastic waste, whilst participants marked the day with tree-planting and cleaning up the school environment.
Photo: SIUK President Elect Juliet Wamiri and SI UN Representative Mary Muia planting trees at the Ngara Girls Student Farm.
The SI UNEP Representative, SI Africa Federation Chair Mary Muia gave a motivational speech, encouraging students to choose serious career paths and not conform to stereotypical roles for women, saying that girls have what it takes to be water engineers, environmental experts and to advance in other science and technology related careers.
Photo: Ngara Girls High School, Board of Management Chair with the students and guest speakers.
The tides began to turn this World Environment Day, with global host India committing to the ban of all single-use plastics by 2022. #WorldEnvironmentDay became the #1 trending topic worldwide. Highlights can be found HERE.