Towards building the capacity of young people in Biogas and Compost production, African Student’s Organization in Hamburg and GIZ- CIM in partnership with Kids & Teens Resource Centre( K&TRC) is set to train 200 secondary school students on how to turn waste energy into wealth and produce compost from organic waste.
Addressing students and teachers drawn from different schools across Ondo State at the Royal Birds, Ijapo, venue of the opening ceremony held on Monday 20th, the Project Manager, Moses Kolade said the initiative which started out in October 2019 will run through the year till November 2020.
According to him, the training which started out since with training of the trainers – teachers across 10 secondary schools who are now expected to train at least 20 students in their respective schools was conceptualized to meet SDG Goal 8; Decent Work & Economic Growth.
In his assessment, he observed that sanitation has become a big problem as more than 315,000 children die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water in Africa. He also used the opportunity to underscore the importance of the training in addressing challenges associated with high consumption of fossil fuel and the unemployment rate among the youths. If we can, we will power Ondo State and have sufficed light from waste.
In his remarks, the Hon. Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Mr. Femi Agagu urged the students to take advantage of the opportunity of the training to develop themselves.
While commending K&TRC for coming up with the initiative which he termed laudably, Mr. Agagu restated the commitment of the Akeredolu led the government to entrepreneurship saying the project will go a long way in complementing government’s developmental efforts by awakening the consciousness of the students to opportunities that abound around them.
One of the guest lecturer, Tony Joy, founder of Durian while exploring the topic: ” The Possibilities From Waste; Opportunities For Development” advocated the need to make judicious use of waste rather than complicating health hazards associated with waste.
Tony Joy who also used the opportunity to stress the endless possibilities that comes with proper waste management. She said every year, 7.2 million tons of food goes to waste and that the time has come to make use of healthy alternatives.”Why not use bamboo cups instead of plastic cups. Some countries are already using plastics to make roads. Also, a country like Sweden imports waste from UK to generate 24 hours of electricity, and some countries have mastered the art of turning plastics into bricks.
Reacting, Mrs. Olamide Falana used the opportunity to call on the government to key into such projects by providing counterparts fundings to facilitate such projects saying there is the need to challenge the mind of the young ones towards creating innovations with available resources.
Other major highlights include another lecture on ‘The Business of Waste’ by Wale Akinyanmi, the coordinator of Accent Academy, as well as a question and answer sessions and remarks by school principals.
Earlier in the welcome address taken by the Executive Director, K&TRC, Mrs. Folashade Bamigboye, she said the initiative is one of its strategic plan towards saving the environment and that the students should key into the project and equip themselves.
Closing the project launch, the Monitoring, Learning & Evaluation Manager of Kids & Teens; Ajidagba Damilola restated the commitment of the organization towards impacting the lives of the younger generation saying the track records of K&TRC attracted the attention of foreign partners. She specially thanked the principals of the school for making it down to the vent within a short notification and also releasing the teachers and students to participate in this project. She also thanked partners of the organization for believing in its cause.
Some of the schools in attendance include Heirs College, Akure; St. Peters College, Akure; Icon Comprehensive College, Akure, Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure, Fiwasaye Girls Grammar School, Akure; Boys High School, Okitipupa, Owo High School among others.
https://topshotnews.com.ng/ktrc-set-to-train-200-students-in-biogas-compost-production/
