By Arret Jatta
Clean Earth Gambia partnering with UNICEF Gambia Saturday staged green pitching finals for environmentalists at Alliance Franco.
Ten innovative teams presented their groundbreaking projects to the esteemed panel of judges.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Mr. Zaidi Jallow emphasized the government of The Gambia’s commitment to supporting the implementation of all the projects.
Executive Coordinator of Clean Earth Gambia, Mr AbdoulieSinghateh, says he believes the solution presented by the contestants will be things that will contribute immensely towards the sustainability of the environment. “When we launched this in April, we had about 39 applicants from different part of the country sharing beautiful ideas about our environment however, with the help of the judges we were able to stream down to 11 applicants out of which three will emerge winners of the grand prizes,” Singhateh revealed.
He adds that there are different dynamics in terms of climate change but children and youth are a key critical element of climate change. “That’s why when we engaged UNICEF on the idea of having children and youth engaged on climate change they embraced the idea, fund the project after due process,” he explained.
“This project is to compliment whatever you are doing, winning any of the three prizes will just compliment your ideas and we believe this is just a starting point. It is not about the competition it is about the ability to compose a unique idea that you want to share,” Singhateh added.
Representative of the Kanifing Municipal Youth Committee, Mr. Kabir Nyass, says climate change within the municipality is a concern and over the years, a lot of families have been displaced, people lost their lives due to the effects of climate change.
The organization awarded D50, 000 for the winner, D30, 000 to the first runner up and D20, 000 to the second runner up.
Plantation Nurseries won the grand prize- D50, 000, while Agro Incubation-Hub first runner up has D30, 000 and Green-Up Gambia second runner up got D20, 000.
Mr Samba Faye, Plantation Nurseries, and winner of the grand prize, expressed gratitude and said the recognition is a testament to their team’s hard work and dedication to combating deforestation and promoting environmental stewardship across The Gambia. “Thank you to Clean Earth Gambia for this incredible platform and to all our partners and supporters who believe in our vision,” he remarked.
