Children are the most affected by environmental degradation in Malindi Sub County, Kilifi County due to lack of proper waste disposal, environmental conservationists in the area have said.
During the celebration to mark ‘The Day of the African child’ in Malindi town, officials from the Wildlife Campus said that most children in Malindi were milling around the poorly managed Malindi dumpsite and hence were at risk of contracting communicable diseases.
“Our main purpose is to eradicate harmful practices within our children through the emblem of environmental conservation and we are transforming their lives. We call them our conservation champions,” he said.
Led by Felix Charo, they said that proper disposal of waste and conservation of the environment by planting trees will help reverse the trend.
“At Casaurina area in Malindi town, there is an open dumpsite where children flock to scavenge for valuables such as scrap metal and plastics for sale and this has exposed them to health hazards,” he said.
He also cited informal settlements within the town where he said waste material was being dumped or burnt by children hence emitting toxic smokes and fumes that cause diseases.
The organization he added came up with the idea of involving children in the conservation of the environment because of the health risks they get into in their day to day life.
The Coordinator of the Wildlife Campus Anthony Kang’ata said since its inception a year ago the organization through children has planted 10 million tree seedlings in the 47 counties across Kenya and that their target is to achieve 5 million trees this year.
“We are teaching the children how they can conserve the environment so that Kenya can be green again. We choose the children from community groups, churches, mosques and schools and enroll them in our program and that is why we have achieved to plant 10 million trees in all the counties within one year,” he said.
The children planted trees at the Malindi police station before heading to Mwangea hills in Ganze Sub County which is 70 kilometers from Malindi town to plant more trees
By Treeza Auma
Treeza Auma is a Digital Content Producer and founder of https://www.ktmn.co.ke KTMN She is also Television journalist at Kenya News Agency and Leadership Accelerator at Women in News.