The government, through the water ministry, has doubled its efforts to engage students across the country on environmental protection and its efforts to fight pollution and global warming.
With this motive, the Government has started organizing symposiums to educate and rally students to champion the fight against pollution.
The Water and Sanitation Development Facility Central (WSDF-C), a branch of the water ministry organized a one-day symposium at King’s College Budo, where students were given a platform to express their views of environmental protection.
School children have become a key part of the ministry, as they occupied 70% of the guests during the celebrations of the Uganda Water and Environment Week 2022.
The annually celebrated Water Week is organized to reflect on the country’s progress in terms of protecting and restoring the environment, as well as forging solutions to the challenges facing the environment.
Water coverage in urban areas has been at 70% for four years because of population growth.
The week is celebrated at regional levels from March 20-25 and climaxes with the celebration of the World Water Day, World Forest Day and World Meteorological Day.
Purpose of students.
The manager of WSDC-F, Eng. Kato Paul noted that children are easy to train and change their culture, views and mentality as compared to the adults.
“If we have children growing up knowing the consequences of environmental degradation and what should be done to stop it, then we will have a brighter future,” he said.
Kato explained the high costs of water, attributing it to the high cost of treating and providing water due to the alarming rate of water pollution.
Lowering the cost of water, according to Kato, largely depends on the protection of the environment because traditionally, there were wetlands whose primary role was to purify water before it joins water bodies.
He explained the water demand that is largely dependent on the population growth, yet the funds directed to the cause are not enough.
“The water coverage in urban areas has been about 70% for four years because the population growth is huge compared to the available resources,” he said.
Sarah Nyiramugisha, a senior sociologist at the water ministry, said they are popularizing issues of the environment to children since they can pass over the message to the wider community, starting with their neighbors at school.
As said by King’s College Budo deputy head teacher Godfrey Kasamba, the young generation will run the country in the future, so it is important for them to grow up caring about the environment.
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