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The problem of marine litter in the words of students in Walvis Bay |
 After a cleanup campaign between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund at the World Environment Day last year, it was now time for students to try their hands at writing about the problem of marine litter. In a competition between schools in Walvis Bay, students took the challenge of preparing essays around the theme “One Beach, One People, One Future – Please Keep it Clean”.
Four primary schools participated in the competition: Walvis Bay, Duneside, Tutaleni and Immanuel Ruiters Junior Primary Schools. The winning school was Walvis Bay Primary School with an essay entitled “Feed the trash cans, the ocean is on diet”, followed by the Duneside Primary School in second place and the Tutaleni Primary School in third. In the words of the winners:
“A healthy community accommodates a healthy environment. We, as people of our beautiful Namibia, the future generation, must start and keep our beaches clean”.
On 13 April 2007, the students gathered at the Kuisebmund Community Hall for the prize-giving ceremony. In recent times, many initiatives have sprung up in this region from the need to raise awareness of the pressing problem of marine litter. At the event, Mr Katunahange, from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, described the marine litter awareness campaigns in Walvis Bay under the auspices of the BCLME Programme, the Municipality of Walvis Bay, EcoAfrica, and the DLIST-Benguela Project.
The essay competition was funded by the Municipality of Walvis Bay’s Environmental Fund, money that has been set aside to rehabilitate the coastal environment through activities with community participation. Mr Kahepako Kakujaha, from the Municipality, extended a hand of invitation to schools to come up with proposals for environmental projects that can make use of the Environmental Fund.
The words of the youngsters surely bring encouragement to all of us:
“By writing this essay, one realizes that this is also a way to contribute and that this is a cause worth the effort to fight for. Let’s all work together to keep our ocean clean and save our precious planet for generations to come”.
Find out more about marine litter in the DLIST Burning Issues. If you want to engage in similar activities, see the Marine Litter Teacher’s Manual. To hear more about initiatives in Walvis Bay, contact Kahepako Kakujaha from the Municipality of Walvis Bay at kkakujaha@walvisbaycc.org.na.
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