Meg Wah, VoNat Set Out to Raise Over 500 Climate Ambassadors in Cameroon

After successfully creating an eco-friendly mindset in close 200 community kids in the Mount Cameroon Area from 2019 to 2020, Voice of Nature (VoNat) and Megwah (My Earth) are pleased to announce the kick-off of the next phase of the ECOKIDS project which will culminate in raising over 500 young environmental ambassadors in Cameroon by 2025, who will champion the course for a greener, sustainable and safer planet earth.

The high rate of urbanization, population growth and the deteriorating global climate has induced the depletion of the biodiversity. For example the once thickly forested, wet, humid, foggy, and cold Mount Cameroon Area and the Bamenda Highlands are becoming very hot with more and more streams drying off every day. This is further compounded by increasing yearly natural disasters that often results in several deaths, destruction of houses, livestock, and other valuables with children often facing the greatest brunt of this. We think there is no better time to reverse this plight than now, and there are no better group of people to do this with than youths and children, because they undoubtedly hold the key to environmental sustainability.

Meanwhile, the 2021 edition of this project, which targets 120 community kids and youths (7 to 18 years) in the Mount Cameroon Area and the Bamenda Highlands is underway. With funding from Earth Rising Foundation, we will from August to December carry out experiential learning on climate change via workshops, traditional folktales & storytelling, debates, songs, drama, poetry and drawing. We will equally engage the youngsters in climate change information gathering & sharing via magazine production, social media, livestream, and media visitation amongst others. There will also be tree planting in public spaces, and nursery establishment & planting of a community orchard of indigenous fruit trees at the verge of extinction. These will culminate in visiting nature historical sites, nature reserves and parks, bird observation etc.

It is hoped that through this project, the children will become nature conservation and climate change ambassadors in their homes and schools after feeling empowered and invested in. Meanwhile, educational materials will be distributed to schools and churches to be used as teaching aids so that more children will develop love and interest in conservation and climate change.