NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 25 – Sango Information Hub (SIH) with support from Betika organized a series of environmental protection events including the distribution and planting of over 5,000 tree seedlings in Bwiri Ward, in Busia County with key focus on the areas bordering the Lake Victoria
The series of events culminated into a football match between Busijo United and Bumbe Dynamo FC attracting over 500 spectators from across the region. The event was held at Busijo Primary School grounds and graced by a number of key stakeholders in environment and football matters.
SIH a registered community media initiative that works on knowledge management and information sharing on natural resources and environmental protection and development around the Lake Victoria Basin in Kenya. Sango Information Hub therefore works to engage the public on developmental issues and environmental protection through online/digital media, radio, newspaper and public forums.
The organization’s work model is informed by its strong commitment to build a strong ecosystem that will ensure the environmental protection and development is largely achieved through human behavior change with key focus on the youth, women and local leadership along the L.Victoria Basin.
Speaking during the event, Mr. Peter Bwire, the Sango Information Hub Chairman, applauded the partnership between Sango Information Hub and Betika for re-engineering regional resilience to environmental protection through community engagement activities and more specifically, the tree planting and football activities which largely receive high levels of community attraction.
He further emphasized on the need for sustainability of such activities as a way of strengthening institutional and technical capacity to integrate environmental protection into water catchment management, improve delivery of accurate and timely environmental and weather-based information to the local communities and improved knowledge management and resource allocation. Kizito Amua, a weather and environmental specialist, emphasized the fact that climate change and environmental protection is inadequately integrated into the regional trans-boundary water catchment management which has significantly increased the vulnerability of the L. Victoria Basin. He emphasized on the need for the local community to plant trees thus creating a micro-climate unique to the region. Trees will aid in increasing air moisture through evapotranspiration, as well as trapping moisture emanating from the lake improving the rainfall regime for the region. In relation to fatal boat accidents which correlates to high wind speeds he iterated the importance of trees as windbreaker along the shores of Lake Victoria in safeguarding lives of sailors.
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