The need to preserve our environment is as important as the need to fight illiteracy and poverty. TVT has been in the forefront in promoting education among the poor families and empowering women and youth to live descent lives. TVT is also motivated by the words of the late Professor Wangari Mathai during one of her tree planting campaigns when she linked continued environmental degradation to the increase in poverty and conflicts. Professor Maathai advocated for sustainable all round interventions to fight poverty. She appealed to leaders and governments to do something because if nothing is done “Poor people will cut the last tree to cook their last meal. She also said. “The more you degrade the environment, the more you dig deeper into poverty.”
TVT is much aware of the fact that the current state of our environment is headed the wrong way and unless our children are taught to love and practice tree planting, our common future is in jeopardy. TVT has therefore started an environmental club with the support of our Ginco friends from Germany, whose main aim is to demonstrate that a forest can be created anywhere. TVT team and GINCO Germany team visited some of the schools in the focal area of TVT operations in Tigania West and identified the schools with most degraded compounds. The TVT- GINCO environment club was born out of this joint mission which resolved to work together in greening our semi-arid schools.
On 11 April, members, TVT/GINCO environmental club planted more than 300 trees in Laciathuriu primary school and at the TVT offices in anticipation of the long rains. The objective is to create a green forest in the middle of the semi-arid land. We would love to do this in all schools but since the resources are limited we urge other teachers and parents to help us teach our children the art of tree planting by planting at least one tree per student during this raining season.