The 2022 climate action programme, EcoKids, jointly implemented by Voice of Nature (VoNat) and Meg Wah, with funds from Earth Rising Foundation came to a wrap in December of same year with parents, children, local authorities and government environment sectoral ministries recommitting themselves to continue supporting the initiative. This edition of the programme was dedicated to mentoring and guiding these youngsters into taking active climate actions in their communities through the restoration of degraded watersheds and landscapes and increased climate advocacy via the mainstream and social media, and open letters.
A closing ceremony for the programme was organized at the Bamenda 1 Council under the auspices of the Second Deputy Mayor of the Council, Madam Annatou Achap Abraham, with the North West Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Environment Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED-NW) and the North West Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF-NW) represented.
The closing ceremony culminated 5 months of climate actions including but not limited to tree nursery establishment, tree planting at degraded landscapes and watersheds, micro radio programmes on climate actions and climate justice, and climate education carried out in collaboration with North West Regional Delegation of Environment Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED-NW) and the Bamenda 1 Council. It was an opportunity for the over 50 participating kids to present their individual nurseries, articles, open letters to decision makers, poems and other activities carried out during the programme to the admiration of their parents and local authorities.
“It is the place of the council to plant eco-friendly trees and to take care of water catchments. We see no reason why we are not going to be part of this giant project. We cannot allow this project to die, we must embrace it and I think Bamenda 1 is going to be one of the first councils to embrace this project,” the Second Deputy Mayor of Bamenda 1, Madam Annatou Achap Abraham said during the closing ceremony. She noted that “the programme came just in time to solve a lot of problems. The trees around the catchment centers were cut down and we were experiencing a lot of water crisis. This EcoKids programme will go a long way to solve 75% of this water crisis”.
The spokesperson of the parents stated that “the cry of nature has reached us the parents through the kids. They have been telling us about the need to take actions for the environment and we actually see them display it. The passion to become advocates of the environment and being nature friendly has been ignited in our kids; I am happy and blessed:” Said a parent during the closing ceremony.
Meanwhile, the children pledged to continue carrying out environmental actions in their communities. “I am going to put in practice what I have learned and share with my friends so that, together we can better protect our environment” Fonjoh Nathan said, after gaining knowledge through different education sessions.
Certificates were awarded and prizes given to outstanding kids. The parents present pledged to form a network that will permit them brainstorm on concrete ways that they can engage their children to accompany the team in raising more environmental ambassadors in Bamenda.