"Visionary People face the same problems everyone else face; but rather than get paralyzed by their problems, Visionaries immediately commit themselves by finding a solution"
Lake Victoria Basin is under myriad environmental threats including Biodiversity loss, Habitat destruction, massive soil erosion and pollution. It's now estimated that the lake's indegineous fish species have been reduced by 80% and over 70% of forest cover in catchment area has been lost. In terms of pollution in the lake, we can best term it as " community septic tank" with how the practice of discarding rubbish and sewerage in the lake is common which inturn has led to detoriation of water quality and cause of water related diseases such as malaria and bilharzia.
With all the crystal clear environmental threats facing L.V.B and the globe, it takes visionaries to rise up and make a change. It took a Nature Enthusiast, Oscar Ryan Ouma to learn the act of changing and turning his feelings and reactions into a thirst and hunger to want to do something about the evident challenge of deforestation and climate change in the communities along lake Victoria basin, after having and suffering from ecological grief witnessing nothing being done when natural world is drastically changing before our eyes. This led to coming up with an idea that founded Kenge Content Hive, a youth led non-profit Community Based organization that works with communities along lake Victoria basin on Environmental Protection, Health and sanitation, Nature Conservation, Youth and economic empowerment and Sustainable development through Education, Advocacy and Activism. KCH aims to create a generation of Environmentally responsive persons in the community by running programmes on Environmental health and protection while also focusing on tree growing for impact to help fully implement nature based solutions to the climate crisis.
Many of today's environmental challenges along lake Victoria basin and around the globe are responsible for adversely affecting the health and livelihoods of individuals and communities, and so, if we fail to protect and restore nature and if as Youths we fail to lead and participate in the restoration and protection process, we will totally fail to prevent and help reduce vulnerability to future pandemics and calamitous climate change breakdown. As we fully recover from Covid 19 pandemic, Environmental health stands as a very crucial component of overall health prime concern to inform policy responses in the preparedness for future pandemics and secure the future.
There have been several efforts to conserve natural resources of lake Victoria basin but all haven't been fruitful due to short term period of projects, Limited awareness of results, ineffectiveness and Limited Funding. Collaboratively working together, the challenges can be reduced through; Strengthening ability of institutions to do work, sharing of Content and best practices, partnerships for goals:helping institutions work together well, Better and matching policies and regulations across institutions and agencies, Encouraging stakeholders to take action, Regular Funding, Educating the public on various alternative sources of livelihoods and creating a conducive space that will allow organizations tap into other investment opportunities.
In KCH viewpoint, going it alone can't be successful and this conversation about climate change should be a young person's problem and prime concern. Untrammeled minds of youths like me and you have the most potential to succeed especially when we can see and feel for ourselves on what is happening to our surrounding. To the youths, the time is now! Lets rise up and make a change!..
The writer is an international environmental ambassador at Vikela.earth , the founder of Kenge Content Hive Organization and a Member of Green Commodities community.