Allexer Namundjembo
The Wakapinya Environmental Education Club, in collaboration with Nedbank and the Okongo regional constituency council office, will lead a large-scale cleanup campaign and environmental awareness initiative, coupled with a tree-planting exercise next month.
The event seeks to inspire the community of Okongo to take collective action toward maintaining a cleaner and more sustainable environment.
Wakapinya’s director, Ester Haikola-Sakaria, expressed the need for community involvement, stating that a clean environment is essential for the health and well-being of every individual.
She added that through this campaign, they hope to not only clean up Okongo but also instil a sense of environmental responsibility within the community.
“The tree-planting exercise will be a key component of the event, promoting reforestation efforts and highlighting the role of trees in combating climate change,” Haikola-Sakaria added.
She invited all the residents of Okongo to come together to clean their village while also engaging in activities aimed at raising awareness about the importance of environmental protection.
Haikola-Sakaria said Wakapinya aims to educate the residents of Okongo on the importance of planting trees, considering that Okongo was one of the villages with thick forests in the past.
“We decided to take the awareness initiative to Okongo because Okongo was one of the villages with big and rare trees, but due to deforestation, Okongo is losing trees as people are flocking there for trees to build their houses,” she said.
She further said her organisation is hoping to educate people about the dangers of cutting down trees and the importance of planting more.
“With the partnership of the office of the regional councillor, we are aiming to tackle deforestation. We want to educate people on why they should always try to replace trees after cutting them down, and we will do so by educating them,” she added.
Haikola-Sakaria added that although the organisation is eager to expand its efforts to various towns, particularly those resembling deserts, financial constraints prevent them from doing so.
“We are only not targeting northern-based towns, but we want to spread the same awareness to different towns like Lüderitz, but we are struggling with funds. Once we have funds available, we will spread the message of planting trees to every corner of the country,” she said.
Okongo constituency councillor Ephraim Shipindo has described the initiative as educative and expressed his appreciation.
“We thank Wakapinya for selecting our constituency. I am aware that the leaders of the organisation are born and raised in Okongo, and some even schooled in Okongo, so I am happy to see the young people remembering their hometowns,” Shipindo said.
He went on to say that funding is necessary for organizations like Wakapinya to carry out their ambitious plans.
“We have old trees in our town, and Okongo is one of the constituencies with thick forests. We have old trees that are falling and causing injuries to both animals and people. So with the education on how to plant trees from Wakapinya, our people will not only cut down trees but will also have a better understanding of the importance of planting new trees.
“I encourage our business community to fund these organisations for these projects to continue to other constituencies,” he said.
