Home > Africa > Awareness and Clean-Up Project on Wassini Island, Kenya

I am in Kenya and have been enjoying this beautiful country for two weeks already. But I also had a goal, to do a research about the environment in Kenya and to raise awareness about ecological issues in this region. The last days of the trip I spent on Wassini Island, near a beautiful Kisite Marine Park. Like in all other places around the world, there was a lot of debris that were easily getting into the water. A total of about 20 kids came and waited impatiently in front of our balcony, while I and my dad were sharpening pencils with our Wenger knives and preparing some notebooks and other prizes. In a split second all the bags for collecting the rubbish were gone and the kids were already picking up some litter. I did not even have to encourage them to do so! That was the biggest surprise.

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We went to the village and started to clean it up. All the inhabitants were truly surprised with our action. Some kids were so curious about what we were doing, that they joined us on the way. When we’ve reached a primary school, where I wanted to give a short presentation about Pangaea and conservation, the bags were already full!

Let’s BUUUUURRRRN THEM!!!

(The rubbish was burnt to ensure that it will not get into the ocean and pollute mangrove forests and the reefs).

 

I talked to the kids about our project in Borneo and showed them pictures of Young Explorers cleaning up the beaches there. They were very happy to see me on the screen (probably first time they have seen a computer with their own eyes!). We talked a little about sharks and their importance in a healthy marine ecosystem, then about harmful effect of rubbish in the oceans. To my surprise, kids still had a lot of energy and when we were done with the presentation and a talk, they grabbed all the bags again and ran to the beach. We found many shoes, a tire, plastic bottles, broken Chinese porcelain, pieces of carpet and many more interesting items.

I am really proud of all the kids who worked hard, picked many kilograms of rubbish and carried heavy bags with them. Good job! Asante sana!


Quick Info:

  • Date: 15/08/11
  • Location: Wassini Island, Kenya

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