By Prince J Musa in Kenema
To support the Government’s tree planting initiative a volunteer organization named Sierra Leone United States Alumni Association (SLUSAA) has joined the Ministry of Environment in planting trees within the compounds of various government institutions in Kenema.
Addressing volunteers at the planting sites, the Regional Coordinator East of SLUSAA, Abdul Rahman Kowa noted that the 16th of July every year has been set aside by the association as give back a day to communities, free of cost.
He said they decided to look at environmental degradation impact affecting living organisms hence the tree planting exercise.
“Our vision is to serve humanity and the nation as a whole in different ways,’’ said Kowa.
He said their target this year is to plant 200 trees of different varieties in Kenema and 800 in other parts of the country.
According to him the information on the number of trees planted and the species added will be handed over to the community people and environmental officers of the councils for care and protection.
He stated that the alumni want to create community ownership of those trees though they will be monitoring them after six months to one-year period to know their progress.
The District Forest Officer in Kenema Julius Sama commended the alumni association for responding to the call of the government on tree planting as a way of addressing environmental challenges.
He said the trees will serve different purposes such as guarding against winds, providing shade, and mitigating erosion all of which he said could have an economic impact on society and the environment as a whole.
Sama said due to pressure brought about by man’s activities, the world is experiencing serious global warming. He said they will give their support as the Forestry division under the Ministry of Environment to support the government’s agenda.
He advised the institution to take proper care of the trees by nurturing them so that they can serve the environmental protection purposes for which they were planted.
Environmental Officer Kenema City Council, Mohamed Ngevao, thanked SLUSAA for complementing council’s efforts in addressing environmental issues.
He called on other organizations to emulate the association’s initiative.
The Kenema District Council, Government Hospital, Methodist Secondary School, Government Secondary, Kenema City library at St James Campus, St Charles Lwanga Primary School, and Bandama community were some of the places in which the tree planting took place.
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