Students in East Africa met in Mwanza, Tanzania to launch an appeal for the restoration and sustainable use of Lake Victoria.
Martin Mwesigwa, the patron of the wildlife club at Entebbe Secondary School said the appeal was formulated at a regional conference that was held from February 11-18. Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) funded the meeting.
SIDA channels the funds through Field Biologists of Sweden, which is a partner with three local organisations, Wildlife Clubs Uganda, Kenya Wildlife Clubs and Malihai Clubs of Tanzania.
Mwesigwa said the theme was, “Save Lake Victoria, stop pollution’’ and 30 schools participated. He added that the lake was facing intense pollution caused by partially treated sewage, pesticides used in flower cultivation and poor farming practices that cause soil erosion. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) also attended the meeting.
“Other than tree planting we want to develop skills that promote responsible and sustainable use of the lake,’’ said Emily Mwaka, a teacher at Entebbe Secondary School. Most of the schools that attended the conference came from Entebbe because the model school is Entebbe Secondary School.
Others included Luzira, two schools from Jinja, PMM Girls School and Wanyange Girls School.
The participants worked in groups of 10 discussing topics like pollution and sought opinions of Mwanza residents on the pollution of the lake.
Mwesigwa also said that assistance will be provided to these students to turn their findings into appealing forms such as drama , radio messages , charts among others.
By Tanah Hadijah
Uganda Travel news
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