OUR ENVIRONMENT IS OUR LIFE! THE ROTARACT CLUB OF FREETOWN-SUNSET, PLANTS SEEDS OF HOPE

Rotaract Club of Freetown-Sunset embarks on a tree planting campaign at Kissy, Thunderhill Freetown.

[30^th July 2022].

Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968[2] at Chaworlotte North Rotary Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of over 10,904 clubs spread around the world and over 203,000 members in 189 countries.[3] It is a service, leadership, professional and community service organization (often miscommunicated as a Social Service Club) for young men and women aged 18 and over.

The Rotaract club of Freetown-Sunset is a non-governmental charitable organization. It was founded with the interest of the community and it’s people in mind. The organisation is focused on helping communities and it’s people to develop leadership and professional skills, for their individual growth and the growth of the community at large. They also take note of certain environmental changes and challenges and work at improving them.

There has in recent times been an increasing need to focus on environmental protection, both nationally and internationally. The terrifying effects of deforestation are numerous, and include amongst others climate change, desertification, soil erosion, flooding and a host of other catastrophes. Sierra Leone is no exception to these ills and the effects became much more apparent in 2016, when we experienced torrential rains and the consequential mudslide which saw the death of over 1000 residents. Owing to increasing worldwide concerns, the Rotary International Board of Directors unanimously agreed on the addition of a new area of focus: supporting the environment. Locally, several NGOs and other units have also joined in the fight against deforestation and joined in the campaign to plant trees.

As a Rotaract club, we believe it is incumbent upon us to join the fight in protecting our environment, and tree planting is just one of many ways we can do this. About 22 rotaractors, with help from the Freetown City Council, have cultivated over 180 trees at the Thunderhill locality, Kissy.

These seedlings would after their desired growth, mitigate the country’s risk of landslides and flooding, enhance resilience to changes in the climate, and account for several other environmental benefits. With help from E.FA., these trees would be properly tracked to help monitor their growth and progress.

 Our next step would be community engagement, and while this would be painstaking, we consider it equally important to simultaneously engage and discourage human activities as we plant. Like the entire membership of Rotary, the Rotaract Club of Freetown-Sunset is ‘’committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resource and foster the harmony between our local communities and the environment.This is a sustainable project and we hope to build on it in the coming years”.