Kick and Conserve Community Environment Project

Environmental conservation forms the backbone of the soccer training at YES Kenya. The organisation based in the rural communities in the southwestern part of Kenya has incorporated environmental conservation lessons as part of their routine training to help in creating awareness in the community on the significance of good environmental practices.

Youth Empowerment through Sport (YES) is a community- based organisation dedicated to environmental conservation. The organisation uses sports (soccer) as a platform to provide training for pupils or youth in school, youth out of school, the community, leaders and families at large. The Kick and Conserve programme is tailored to provide environmental awareness to the participants and the community to help them understand how vulnerable our environment is and the importance of protecting it through soccer-themed messages, for example environmental games and activities geared to direct the community to protect the natural resources that dictate our eco system (for example water, forest, air and animals). The programme involves environmental discussion sessions, environmental games and finally soccer (Fair Play).

Challenge

Many young people and the community at large in Suna East, where the programme operates, do not know the importance of environmental awareness and the importance of its protection. Both primary and secondary students are not only in a better position to help in solving the menace, but also have a major role to play in ensuring that they take care of the environment. The learners can directly play an important role in environmental conservation by planting trees during their primary school life. Besides, they can also help in crusading environmental awareness campaigns, community cleaning programmes and the creation of environmental clubs. Through our environmental programme, we have been able to reach 350 pupils, with girls being the majority at 178 from both primary and secondary schools in Suna East Location.

Solution

The Kick and Conserve Environment Project will give participants a chance to be aware of their environment by making sure that they have the knowledge needed to protect the earth by having the necessary information about environmental conservation and most importantly planting trees while they are still young. Additionally, the programme also enables the participants to develop responsible and caring attitude towards the environment through our regular cleaning.

Long-Term Impact

The project will give the youth in Suna East an opportunity to participate in increasing the rate of forest cover in Kenya. This consequently will ensure that we continue to raise our voices as a community for the preservation and protection of our environment. Additionally, through increased forest cover, the project will help in checking soil erosion, more particularly wind erosion that is rampant in bare areas with little or no forest cover. Consequently, when soil erosion is checked, soil fertility will be improved and maintained, hence, level of productivity will increase.

[This article has been edited by the Operating Team.]