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Showing posts from March, 2011

SOUTH AFRICAN FIRM WINS WANGARI MAATHAI INSTITUTE FOR PEACE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY (WMI) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN COMPTITION

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In quest to bring environmental sustainability to the next level, Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai is to bring a peace and environmental institute in Kenya; Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University Of Nairobi School Of Agriculture at Lower Kabete. ‘A Green Campus’ as she puts it is going to see issues of peace and environmental justice being taught. The University of Nairobi has allocated the Green Belt Movement up to nearly 50 acres of land where the institute is to be erected. This was unveiled by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP accompanied by Dr Reuben Mutiso, Chairman of the panel of International jurors, who announced the winning architectural design at the Awards Ceremony held today at the Louis Leakey Auditorium, Nairobi National Museum. DHK Architects (Pty), based in Cape Town, South Africa produced the winning design of the Green campus ahead of the four other finalists that were reviewed anonymously by a panel of DHK Architects (

Call for applications: Africa-Europe Youth Climate Leadership & Learning Program, Bonn Germany

Background The African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) have received seed funding from North-South Centre of the Council of Europe to support the participation of two AYICC members to attend the Africa-Europe Youth Climate Leadership & Learning Program taking place on 6-17 June 2011 in Bonn, Germany. Who can apply? Application is open to all young climate activists from AYICC. Young people interested to apply for this fund should: 1. Belong to recognized youth group in Africa working on climate 2. Live in Africa at the time of Application 3. Not more than 35 years at time of applying for this funding 4. Actively engage in youth-led climate action in Africa Criteria for application Interested applicants should fill the online application form. They should also send the following support documents to support their application:- 1. Letter of nomination from the sending organization. This letter should bear signature and of head of your organi

World Water Day- I celebrate Paulina

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World Water Day 2010 Villagers and donkeys near Marsabit By: eco_oficina ''Paulina is a mother of 7 or 8, her eldest daughter being approximately 16years old. She sells water for a living, in a place in Kenya called Abosi in Transmara district.  She owns two donkeys and has to carry the water in 20litre and 30litre plastic containers, and sells the water at ksh10 for every 20litre container. A trip has about 100litres and she does about 3 or 4trips a day, because of other household chores. She has to walk the donkeys for about 2kilometres to the well which has clean water, fetch the containers manually, load them onto the stubborn donkeys, and walk back the same distance to be able to sell the water to her clients.  When I first met her in December 2010, she had a 2month old baby, who is constantly strapped on her back, because she cannot afford a help at home, and the older children have to go to school. Its seldom for you to see Paulina without the baby on her back, its

Reach Out Programme with KUNEC

The Reach –out program is one of the initiatives of AYICC-K, which aims at helping the vulnerable in the society. As a team, we therefore decided to work with Watoto Wema Centre based in Saika Kayole, one of the slums in Nairobi . In collaboration with Kenyatta University Environmental Club (KUNEC), AYICC-K made yet another visit at the centre on 12 th March 2011. The club was celebrating their green week and therefore thought that it was wise to show solidarity with the children. We were grateful for the sun that shown so bright in the sky. A clear indication that it supported our activities as we set out to restore hope in the lives of young innocent children some unaware of even what had transpired to result with them being there. We arrived at the watoto wema centre around 10.30am guided by three kids from the institution that had come to pick us from the stage. We found them going on with their various duties for the day. The older ones were cleaning their rooms while some were