Teachers from Nyanza, Gisagara, Ruhango and Kamonyi Districts have promised to make schools green and help students grow with an environment friendly culture as people who spend most time with them at their young age.
They made the commitments on December 30th, 2021 in a training that brought together teachers from secondary schools from the four Southern Province Districts extending over Amayaga region.
The training organized by APEFA in partnership with Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) was in line with Green Amayaga project, a six-year initiative aimed at making the Amayaga region green again.
APEFA is currently conducting a project on capacity building in the areas of livelihoods and agroforestry for Forest Landscape Restoration in the Amayaga region.
Speaking to them at the training, Philbert Nkurunziza, Green Amayaga Project Coordinator, said that “Together as one, we can make Amayaga green again.”
“We have a debt for Amayaga,” Nkurunziza said adding that “we need our children to grow up with an environment protection culture and as [teachers] people who spend most time with students, tell them.”
“When they [students] understand the message, they also will be the messengers even in areas beyond Amayaga,” he proceeded.
“Tell the children the trees planted [through Green Amayaga] are theirs and they will benefit them in the future for they will help them get money and get food security,” he added.
Joseph Sebyenda, a Mathematics teacher at G.S Ruyanza in Kamonyi District said that after being reminded of merits of environment protection, they ‘now’ commit to instill this culture among the school community they work in and students they teach.
He said they will do this by creating environment clubs where they were not, strengthening them where they were not and tipping students on environment management.
Jonadabu Nyaminani who teaches Geography at EAV Mayaga in Muyira Sector of Nyanza District said not only doing sensitization on environment protection in the communities they live in, they will also integrate environment sustainability in all other subjects as crosscutting issues.
The teachers revealed slogans they intend to display in their respective schools among which are; ‘Please Keep Our Environment Clean’, ‘Losing Environment Losing Life’, ‘Save Environment, Save Life’.
