World Environment Day celebrated in style

By Dennis Kipkirui

World Environment Day is a day set aside by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to celebrate the need to have a clean environment for human beings. It is an annual event held every 5^th day of June.

It aims at encouraging people from different backgrounds to ensure green, cleaner and brighter environment for themselves and their posterity. This include carrying out activities like neighborhood-cleanup, discouraging use of plastic bags, planting trees, walking to work to avoid carbon emissions and coming up with recycling plants.

The day has been celebrated for the last 40 years. It has served as the principal vehicle employed by the United Nations (UN) to trigger governments toward initiating positive actions on environment protection.

Pupils make balls by recycling plastic bags

The theme for this year is: Green Economy: Does it Include you? Last year the world celebrated with the theme “Forests-Nature At Your Service”

In Laikipia County, residents of Sipili celebrated the day in style. Pupils from Sipili School for the Deaf embarked on an aggressive clean-up exercise in public utilities. They cleaned Sipili Health Centre and Sipili Police Post. They also collected litter in Sipili shopping centre.

The pupils were happy to identify themselves with the rest of the world in ensuring a clean environment for human habitation. Despite their handicap they chose to defy their disability and promote the need for clean environment. Their silence could only reflect the importance of peaceful environment. More than seventy pupils led by their Principal Mr. Gikunda and teaching staff participated in the event. They challenged members of the public to take serious action towards environment conservation. Most people in the area were not aware of the world environment day.

They collected several plastic bags which were later on disposed off properly. To ensure they were in- line with the theme, they recycled plastic bags. Pupils made balls of different shapes and sizes to be used during recreational times. They were happy to learn that such discarded material could still be used for other purposes in building the economy of the country. They told Laikipia Rural Voices (LRV) scribe, with the help of sign language translator that they were happy and ready to participate in such functions because they understood the benefits of clean environment.

Teachers and pupils plant trees in the school forest yard

The school has primary section and vocational training. It also acts as a rehabilitation centre. Pupils are mainly deaf, dumb, epileptic, physically challenged, mentally retarded and others have autism.

The event culminated in the planting of over 50 seedlings in the school forest yard. The plants were donated by the Ministry of Agriculture. Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) through Maarifa Centre  participated in the exercise.