On 18 April, the environment took centre stage at a brief, 1-day workshop for students and women of the western rural area. The workshop was held at the Jabex Complex in Waterloo. The meeting was organized by the Women’s Network for Environmental Sustainability (WoNES) and featured discussions about using communication tools to promote environmental awareness.
Mrs. Nabila Tunis of WoNES spoke to the 30 participants about the different types of communication and different tools like town criers, drumming, radio and television stations, newspapers, mobile phones, SMS and WhatsApp messages to alert people on environmental disasters. She said, “The meeting is to discuss how to effectively communicate messages to encourage people to take care of the environment.”
Mrs. Iyesha Josiah Kamara also of WoNES discussed the strong link between communication, climate change and the environment.
She cautioned that climate change messages must be very clear and brief and stressed that the environment is threatened by flooding, shortage of water and extreme heat. She further disclosed that WoNES would soon install a signboard listing the Environmental Bye-laws and appealed to participants to take pictures and video of damages to the environment and send them to the WhatsApp social media groups.
Aminata Fofanah of Radio Lion Mountain, Waterloo, said that in spite of the fact that they report communities without toilets, especially Gbassham, nothing has been done to address the issue.
“I never knew that burning waste was not the best way to dispose of our domestic waste”, Fatmata Kargbo said. “I have learned from the training that I should keep my waste in a covered container and dispose of it with the waste management group in our community.”
Rosaline Turay of Tombo observed that her community is filthy. She said stakeholders are not taking any action.
Doris Webber, a civil society activist in Waterloo, expressed similar sentiments and hoped that the partnership with WoNES would continue.
A teacher of the Peninsula Secondary School Mr. Ezekiel A. Dumbuya disclosed that they have designed a membership form that pupils fill to be endorsed by their parents before becoming members of the School Nature Club.
He highlighted that they have also restructured their nursery site in addition to planting pears, and moringa. He presented a proposal to WoNES for support.
Habib Kanu, a teacher of the Khulafai Rashideen Islamic Secondary School, Tokeh, told the group about their environmental farm where they grow oranges.
The pupils that attended the meeting were from Peninsula Secondary School, Waterloo, Roman Catholic Primary School and the Khulafai Rashideen
Islamic Secondary School, Tokeh.
By Emmanuella Kallon
Friday April 28, 2017.
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