A Community Based Organisation (CBO) dubbed Homa Bay County Diaspora community has partnered with the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) in tree planting exercise.
Speaking during the commissioning of the CBO’s office located within the NEMA compound, the organization’s Chairman Maxwell Odhiambo explained that they were looking to commence the second phase of the programme christened ‘One child One tree’.
“The partnership with NEMA will ensure we do everything within our capacity to make Homa Bay County green. Let us conserve the environment because our future depends on it,” said Odhiambo.
He also added that the CBO’s seedling producers were already working on availing trees necessary for the second phase with some partners in Suba North constituency already producing up to 150,000 seedlings.
Odhiambo further explained that the organisation will ensure those planting trees also reap benefits of their hard work.
Philip Omuga, the Coordinator for ‘one child one tree’ project explained that the organisation focused on using children to plant trees as a way of instilling the culture of environmental conservation that will be passed to the future generations.
He also said that by April this year the organisation had already planted over 40,000 trees and was looking to move the county’s forest coverage from the current 2.6 per cent to 10 per cent.
The organization’s resource Mobilizer Coordinator Arshley Rose explained that the number of seedlings within their reach were sufficient for the next rainy season.
She reiterated that they would go through schools, churches as well as various organizations to achieve their goal while encouraging the women to be at the forefront of the project.
“Let us plant trees in our farms as well as land boundaries and ensure they are watered and properly maintained”, urged Rose.
On his part, Homa Bay County NEMA Director Josiah Nyandoro appealed to the CBO to mobilize the community to form corporative societies that will help with the issues of environmental preservation such as sand harvesting.
The Director also appealed to the County Assembly to pass the bill controlling sand harvesting that has been in draft form since 2015.
By Omar Zabbibah and Davis Langat
