Members of the Wildlife Club at Seseme Girls Secondary School in
Kisoro, Uganda (right) have had a series of four PACE workshops over recent months. They were organised and led by Denis Agaba, the local PACE Champion who works with the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda and the Gorilla Organisation.
Denis has covered a range of topics and activities and wanted to share the girl’s feedback.
Some extracts below …..
IRANKUNDA MARION explained that “Seseme Girls S.S. Wildlife club is a group of students working hand in hand to protect the environment and what is within that environment for example fauna and flora.
The Wildlife Coordinator has provided us with trainings by talking about the disposal of human wastes and measures of controlling that by making important things from wasted materials like papers, plastic bottles, some grasses that are used in making local fertilizers and many others.
These are activities that I learnt in Wildlife Club using the PACE materials and trainings:
– About health, I learnt that it is not necessary to have a tap near the toilet but what is important is to access water to wash hands after visiting the toilet .. I was taught how to make a tippy tap hand washing facility in a local way..
– By using the PACE materials, I learnt that fertilizers made from our waste products like urine and cow dung is very strong compared to the artificial made fertilizers which is very expensive for some people to afford. Referring to the present situation with our homes especially farmers, it is now expensive to buy fertilizers compared to the outcomes after harvesting
– Then the PACE CDs were also teaching us on how communities can manage the energy sources you already use in a more sustainable way and how we can identify ways to gain access to other sources of sustainable energy.
– The PACE textbook is also advising us to say no to disposal of plastic bottles.”
Irankunda Jolly, the Wildlife club secretary added some comments. She noted that:
– From recycling of papers, students can be able to get materials like charcoal (brickettes that look like charcoal) for cooking which can sometimes be sold to get income.
– Some wildlife conservation activities like planting trees can help students to get shade and also conserve the environment through influencing rainfall and preventing soil erosion.
– Growing crops like cucumber, pumpkins, egg plants and vegetables is important to students because such crops when harvested can be eaten which can improve on diet of students and also they can be sold.
– Some students also have opted to make fertilizers from the waste materials which are fetching some income to buy books and other necessities using knowledge from the training.
– Watching the PACE CD-ROM and Action sheets provides the detailed information to people who want to carry out environmental projects in their area – explains how to do things and how it can help them.
– I end by appreciating the work done by Wildlife Clubs of Uganda, using PACE materials to enhance people’s standards of living.
Thank you girls for your interest in conservation and local development. We look forward to hearing about your successes applying these ideas.