Hoping to educate island children on the importance of protecting and keeping our environment clean, the Rotaract Club of Ambergris Caye along with MarAlliance has launched an Environmental Educational Campaign in San Pedro Town. The campaign is spearheaded by Rotaract’s Job Mendizabal, Kyle Vasquez, Rachel Jensen and members of MarAlliance.
Vice President of the Rotaract Club Kyle Vasquez told The San Pedro Sun that the idea of the program began in May of this year after they received monetary donations from ECI Development and Grand Baymen. This new program seemed perfect as it targeted four out of the Rotaract’s six areas of focus when implementing projects: disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, basic education and literacy and economic and community development.
The program began on Monday, October 1st and is designed to provide educational sessions to the upper division students of the different primary schools on the island. The presentations are based on scientific facts on the negative effects of plastic pollution, how it affects the environment, how it affects us individually, and what we can do to reuse, reduce and recycle on the island. At the end of each presentation, students are asked questions to see what they learned, and they receive a bamboo straw to motivate them to stop using plastic ones.
So far, the team has hosted educational sessions at Holy Cross Anglican School, San Pedro Roman Catholic School, and New Horizon Seventh Day Adventist School. Vasquez says they will be providing these educational sessions to the remaining schools on the island. They will also purchase garbage drums to be placed in participating schools and in various parts of the island as to promote proper waste management. “As the program grows, we will also start hosting clean-up activities around town to increase awareness in children,” said Vasquez.
Jensen says that the feedback from the participating schools has been great. “Many of the principals are willing for us to host educational sessions at their schools, as they are aware of the ongoing problem of garbage and plastic pollution in our environment.”
The Rotaract Clubs bring together people of ages 18-30 to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service. In communities worldwide, Rotary and Rotaract members work side by side to take action through service. For more information on the Environmental Educational Campaign, you can email Job Mendizabal at [email protected] , Kyle Vasquez at [email protected] , or Rachel Jensen at [email protected].
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