KENYA MOJA NEWS: RESIDENTS OF MACHAKOS PLANT A HISTORIC OBAMA GARDEN

A historic moment was witnessed in a remote village at Katheka Kai primary school Machakos when residents, teachers, leaders, environmentalists came together under the leadership of Henry Kioko ,Founder Million Trees Million Dreams Campaign and CEO Beryll Foundation to create a Historic Obama Garden to mark the homecoming of the Kenyan American President Barack Obama.

The school Deputy Principal Tabitha Mumo affirmed “we didn’t want to miss out an opportunity to leave behind a mark with President Obama homecoming”. It’s a historic moment she said. ‘We planted 200 tree seedlings”, she said.

The pupils were excited as they sang Barrack Obama songs they had composed. “It was as if Obama was in our midst”, she said.

The campaign Million Trees Million Dreams is an initiative by Beryll Foundation to plant one million trees. Henry noted Machakos county tree cover is less than 3 percent and losing its biodiversity at an alarming rate. For example birds and butterfly species are disappearing due to tree destruction. According to World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) the current species extinction rate stands at 200 and 2000 species extinction every year. “At this rate our children in Machakos will never see a bird or butterfly because of low tree cover”, he said. “These animals leave on trees”.

Million Trees Million Dreams Campaign targets to establish a forest of 1000 trees in over 1500 public schools and institutions in Machakos county. The campaign has so far planted 28,000 since its launch of campaign Feburary 2015.

According to Prince Charles we have 18 months to act on Global warming by reforestation or face global warming disaster. “If we can make our government to prioritize on forestation we can immediately give ourselves time in the race against climate change”, says Henry.

According to Henry, The Obama Garden is a new tourist attraction in Machakos. “ We welcome Kenyans and call upon the American ambassador in Kenya Robert Godec to visit the garden named after President Barack Obama.

During his speech to Kenyans, President Obama emphasized on the expression “we plant a tree not because we will enjoy its shade but because our children will”. It’s a call to work “bottom up’ to effect change at the local level”, says Henry. “We have been at the vanguard of reducing the effect of climate change by tree planting and creating a tree planting culture in our youth”, he adds.

Beryll Foundation works with government, multinational companies, environmentalists, education institutions, community groups to implement projects fostering environmentalism and sustainability.

Below are other photos from the event;