Office location

The EEIU-Kenya Chapter's office, which also serves as the project head office, is situated in Mombassa, Kenya.

Affiliated institutions within Kenya:

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Reference:
Kinne O (2002) EEIU Brochure. English Original. Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, Germany

The Chapter recognises the importance of the involvement of young people in ecological conservation and environmental education activities. Young people will soon form a part of the adult populace, and will be required to use and plan ecological and environmental values, services and resources. Their involvement at an early age is not only a wise but also a critical investment to ensure that efforts which have already begun continue, and that future generations are intellectually equipped for environmental challenges ahead of them. One of the cardinal aims of ecological and environmental education and conservation is to help conserve the services and resources derived from the environment for future generations. The young generation of today are our immediate link with the future and any activity meant for the future generation should preferably start with the younger generation of today.

Based on the above premise, EEIU-Kenya Chapter is embarking on an ambitious undertaking of enlisting various school children and young adults in participatory environmental and ecological education and conservation activities. This calls for the well-balanced and co-ordinated programme of activities that EEIU-Kenya Chapter intends to develop. It is a big challenge to our chapter, and will create the position of an Educational and Outreach Officer to be in charge of this vital component of our chapter activities. The Chapter Chair, with assistance of both the Social Anthropologist and the Project Enumerator will be responsible for this position initially. The Social Anthropologist, with agreement from the Chair, will co-ordinate the activities of the various 'Eco Clubs', while the Project Enumerator will be involved in recruitments from the rural communities.

In schools and communities where Eco Clubs are formed, it is the responsibility of club members to elect their leaders and undertake various environmental and conservation activities. The clubs, in absence of any locally envisioned leadership, shall adopt the conventional method of having the following officials constituting a management committee:

Under co-ordination of EEIU Kenya Chapter Eco-Club programmes include

Several topics related to the clubs' immediate environment would be defined after thorough discussion with School Heads and Teachers. The students will be expected to consult widely with their friends, relatives, libraries and teachers. At the end of the allocated period, a venue (most likely one of the participating schools) will be chosen to host the event, during which certificates of merit and other awards will be given by EEIU-Kenya Chapter officials and sponsors to be arranged by EEIU-Kenya Chapter. The award giving ceremonies will be graced by poems, dances and drama all from the participating schools; this is to make the occasion enjoyable to young participants. Efforts will not be spared to ensure that the topics and themes of all presentations are as relevant to ecological and environmental conservation as possible. In cases where donors are enlisted, T-shirt banners could be issued to all members of participating teams.

2. Clean-up campaigns

Many places in the Third World are choking with litter. This can mainly be attributed to the inability of these economies to cope with the exorbitant costs of waste collection and treatment. Other causes have been a result of rapid population increases and a somewhat lax populace, who seem not to be too concerned primarily with their own immediate environment.
Clean up campaigns that have been graced by various youth groups have been big successes and have received positive publicity from the Kenyan media. With some basic gadgets like gloves, waste buckets and shovels and spades, these clubs can organise clean up exercises in their immediate vicinity and around public utilities like Chief's offices, hospitals, public gardens and parks, among others. To make it interesting, donations will be arranged to cover costs of soft drinks and some educational videos that could be shown after the completion of these exercises. Ball games between various clubs could also be organised in the evenings of such days to make participation more entertaining.

3. Educational ecology tours and visits

Tours and visits is another facet for the Eco Clubs. In fact this is where the exchange programme of students of a country's chapter could travel abroad to exchange ideas with their fellow Eco Club members under the supervision of these country's respective EEIU Chapter Chairs. This is more likely to be possible between neighbouring countries, or cities or provinces of the same country, before it can be tried internationally. Our aim as a chapter is to initiate a kind of exchange programme between the various chapters and to allow room for development of a Youth International Exchange program under the umbrella of EEIU. This task will however be left open to the first youthful beneficiaries of this program to develop it further if they so desire. Future beneficiaries of this kind of arrangements could help to fund it or promote viable environmental activities in countries visited. By this kind of programme, EEIU will not only be capitalising on its international network, but also helping in the real development of the 'one world, one people' concept, an enviable phrase developed by proponents of Eco Ethics and those who cherish genuine world peace--A world of equal opportunities to all.
Within the national boundaries, Eco Clubs in liaison with the EEIU-Kenya Chapter identify areas to visit, with emphasis on conservation areas, rehabilitated environments, game parks, wild animal sanctuaries, arboretums, museums, and coastal areas with unique features. During these tours, the custodians of these facilities will give talks to the participants and free time will be arranged for the participants to ask related questions. It is envisaged that both the teachers as well as the students will find such visits enjoyable.

4. Debates and seminars on ecological and educational issues

Eco Clubs in certain schools are encouraged to host debates and discussions on selected and agreeable topics between their leaders and EEIU-Kenya Chapter officials. During these debates, educational videos can be shown and talks given by invited guests including EEIU-Kenya Chapter officials. Winning teams are issued with certificates of merit and prizes, should there be sponsors. Interest should be stimulated with activities like face painting of the participants, dresses in traditional regalia and other creative activities that should help capture the interest of the participating teams. Seminars are however likely to be of interest to senior groups, such as teachers who are actively involved in co-ordination of the various Eco Clubs. In these seminars, the chance to share their experiences, joys and further expectations and improvements regarding involvement with these clubs and the environmental activities will be given. These seminars could also act as a meeting point for the various members of EEIU-Kenya Chapter.
With some exceptions, these gatherings can recommend ways of generating funds, or could be used to organise dinner dances to help raise funds for certain needy projects of Eco clubs with good project proposals. Other dignitaries could be invited to officiate as guests and all funds raised channelled into useful projects or Eco club goals.

5. Dramas, plays and poems related to ecological and conservation issues

As in Number 4 Above, selected schools and Eco clubs shall host dramas, plays and poems on related ecological and environmental issues. Again, winning clubs and participants are issued with certificates and other awards commensurate with the quality of their presentations.

6. Tree planting activities

EEIU-Kenya strives to campaign for the planting of trees and reduced wanton destruction of forests. It must be understood that climatic change is impacting very negatively on the African continent, and that the Sahara desert is advancing southwards. The amount of soil erosion is also unprecedented, hence the need to sensitise the people to plant more trees. This is a responsibility that the Eco Clubs cannot elude. Members of Eco Clubs will be mobilised into tree planting activities and will preferably include several, or where possible all, officials of EEIU-Kenya Chapter.

Requirements for jump starting the ambitious project of forming Eco Clubs:

All the other related activities will be co-ordinated at EEIU-Kenya Chapter headquarters with active participation of all our officials as an added responsibility.

Possible future Club activities include:

Internet Eco-club discussion forums
Environ beauty ambassadors
Career forums

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October 1, 2002

We had hoped that it would be possible for Nicola to continue her work on EEIU and ESEP inspite of the long distance between Oldendorf and New Caledonia. However, this turned out to be too difficult. The EEIU President thanks Nicola for all she has done to promote EEIU and ESEP, and wishes her a pleasant time and much success in New Caledonia.

Fortunately, we have found a very capable replacement (Mary Batson). She will begin her work on January 1, 2003. In the meantime all pertinent correspondence will be handled by Inter-Research (ir@int-res.com).

Otto Kinne, President EEIU

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August 27, 2002

EEIU-Kenya Chapter offices were bustling with activity during the period of 17th to 22nd of August 2002. This was the period we were hosting Ludmilla Marchukova, the Chair of Sevastopol Chapter 1 (Ukraine), known for her fruitful involvement of school children in environmental actions.

Here was a giant in her own right. She has not only harnessed her great teaching potential but has also pulled her medical training to instill environmental awareness in her school and succeeded in producing a generation that is not only ecologically ethical but also active promoters of the ethical constructs on which the EEIU thrives. Her school children have, for some time now, been the careful custodians of a reserved park area in Sevastopol; she has also acted as an approachable consultant on school and community mobilization paradigms on environmental awareness and actions. For sure, EEIU-Kenya boasted of having her in our midst.

Prof. Kinne, the president of EEIU, catered for the visit and all the accompanying costs. The purpose was to have an exchange between one of the most established EEIU Chapters (Sevastopol 1) and the actively upcoming EEIU-Kenya chapter, to give a chance to Ludmilla to share her experiences with EEIU Kenya members, to explore areas of further cooperation and to see for herself the worth of EEIU-Kenya in tackling some of the world's most pressing environmental and ecological problems.

For the four days she was here, Ludmilla had perhaps one of the most exhaustive and fun-filled schedules she will live to remember, especially coming after a two-day stint of air travel. During the days she visited our project sites, she talked with our members and affiliated institutions and paid a courtesy call on some personalities associated with Mombassa city. She also visited the world famous Tsavo National Park, where she was met at the gate by famous 'Tsavo Kichwa', a pride of eight lions, and later was shown all the Kenyan-wildlife big game. Her camera work perhaps will illustrate this better.

During the nights, she admired the star dotted skies, we believe her best hobby, and was entertained by the Masaai dancers at the Hotel Voyager and Ngombeni dancers at the Hotel Reef along the Kenyan coast. On her last day, she visited the Mamba Cultural village where she had a horse ride, fed crocodiles and ran away from seriously poisonous snakes. Fun and risk was hers all the time -staring lions, elephants drinking water just a few meters away, and poisonous snakes able to spit their venom several meters. After it all, she remarked 'I have no words'.

Regarding serious EEIU business, it was agreed that EEIU-Kenya Eco Clubs' members, mainly in schools, be encouraged to interact with their counter parts in Sevastopol through emails, and also to possibly organize some exchanges where possible, especially during school holidays. It was also mooted that EEIU-Kenya and EEIU-Sevastopol keep each other constantly informed about their respective activities through the Internet. Ludmilla advised EEIU-Kenya to do a lot of marketing of their activities through mass media, using radio, television and newspaper as a medium. In fact she went ahead and showed how the whole activity could be achieved. She advised that there is need to have the Kenyan public appreciate the activities of EEIU Kenya, and in one incidence where she visited 'Teen Watch Center', one of our affiliates, she literally imparted pedagological skills to the staffs involved.

The two Chapters also explored the possibility of doing similar projects and evaluating their success as influenced by the difference in locations and environment. About the impending conferences organized by the two chapters towards the end of this year, invitations were made both ways.

While the four days were not enough for the crystallization of these talks, they were clearly the eye openers to the great potential available within the EEIU global structure. These days provided the stimulus for exchange between the various chapters, the platform for bringing together the great and yet diverse talents of the various chapters, and perhaps enhanced the global institutionalization of EEIU and its concepts.

We were happy to have had you Ludmilla, and thanks also to Prof. Kinne for the enormous resources he committed to the visit.

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This page was last updated on 1 April 2003.