Life Concern, Nebbi NGO Forum and CERFORD, with funding from COOPERAID, a Switzerland based organization have launched the second edition of annual youth education and environment run 2023.
The athletics’ event that was launched on Monday at Ajei primary school playground in Nyapea Sub-county covers the four sub-counties of Nyapea, Athuma, Akaa and Zeu respectively.
According to the executive Director of Life concern Kakura Emmy Kizito, the event is targeting “taping talents from the community and schools”.
Speaking during the launch, Kakura added that the event is also aimed at encouraging the community to embrace environmental conservation through tree planting and retaining learners at school.
He also advised the parents to practice better agronomic practices along the swamps for example using contour lines to control soil erosion that has become a major environmental concern.
The land act 1998 prohibits owning , biulding and farming in wetlands because it degrades the environment which is having a devastating impact on the climate change as well.
The Zombo district sport officer Aziz Onim has commended the NGOs for the initiative adding that they seek to identify ” 40 talents who will go for trial in the West Nile region come January 6th 2024″
Meanwhile the athletes who were tested in the cross-country run, 100m and 200m have expressed love for athletics.
The LC3 chairperson of Nyapea Sub-County Constatino Omwon who was also the Chief runner at the event has rallied parents and learners to embrace Tree planting to sort out the challenge of school fees in future.
” If you plant like five trees now, after five years, you will be getting money out of the trees that can help pay your school fees” . Omwon Said.
The Zombo District inspector of Schools Mr Jalar Silvio has called upon the athletes, not to take for granted the talents that God has blessed them giving examples of the ” world stars apparently using their talents to earn big from the sports world”.
The athletes were awarded prizes like cash, solar lamps, and energy savers. The executive Director of Life concern said partly the distribution of the items like solar lamps and and energy savers will help minimize high usage of firewoods and impact of smoke on the sight of mothers.
The Consortium of the NGOs recently passed out over 30 youths who graduated in different employable skills and also awarded millions of shillings to adress the infrastructural crisis in Seven Public Primary schools across the District.
