The Diary Game 17-05-2022 | World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022

Friday was commemorated as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought under the theme "Rising up from drought together"
Unlike any other day, Friday was a very busy day for me since I was coordinating the Desertification and Drought Day activities. Was up as early as 06:00 AM, cleaned the inner part of the car, and showered.
My kids were participating in the Desertification and Drought Day Quiz; as such, I needed to be at the Regional Delegation of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development by 08:30 AM for them to partake in the Quiz.
While I showered, they had their breakfast and by 08:20 AM, we left home for delegation. On our way to the Delegation, I stopped at Print Master to give an order for the Desertification and Drought Day Banner and flyers to be printed. Unfortunately, the staff in charge of printing banners wasn't there. I drove to the delegation, dropped the kids off for the Quiz, and drove back to town to print the banner and flyers with my friend, Nehemiah.

Banner designed by @nforyembe

The Quiz finished at 10:00 AM and I received a lot of calls from the Delegate requesting that I bring the banner for us to commence the sensitization walk.

Pupils and Students from Primary, Secondary, and UniversityInstitutions taking the Desertification and Drought Quiz

I finished printing the banner and flyers at 10:30 AM and drove on top speed back to the Delegation for the Desertification and Drought Sensitization walk. There, we prepared a few posters and took a family picture.

At 11:00 AM, we hit the road for our sensitization walk with the youngest of our team being my son, Frank Nabil who is 4 years old. We had buckets, containers, trees, flyers, and posters to raise awareness about desertification and drought in the region. For 45 minutes, we walked, singing and sharing flyers with the people of the region.

When we arrived at the Bamenda 1 Motor Park/Market, members of our team gave different talks about the situation of desertification and drought in the region, as well as what we can do to rise up against drought. At the park, the Delegates of Environment for Bui and Momo Divisions, the Executive Director of New Vision for an Eco-friendly Environment, the representative of CEPOW, and I gave brief lectures to inspire and engage people to rise up against desertification and drought in the region.

^{Tewu Erasmus, Executive Director of New Vision for an Eco-friendly Environment}

^{Staff of CEPOW}

^{Divisional Delegate of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development for Momo Division}

Rounded up the sensitization campaign at the Motor Park/Market at 12:30 and continued roadside sensitization as we moved to Government Primary School Up Station for tree planting.
There, we took another family picture with the trees and flowers we had to plant on the school campus. Some of the trees we had include;

1. Bottle Brush (Callistemon)
2. Umbrella Tree
3. Acacia

Prior to the tree planting, it was resolved that every participant of the Desertification and Drought Day should plant at least two trees. The Regional Delegate of Environment and @munyuy both gave a presentation on how to plant a tree. The Delegate then launched the tree planting and in less than 45 minutes, the team planted over 150 ornamental trees on the school campus.

^{Regional Delegate of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development for the North West Region planting the first ornamental tree}

The Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) was present during the tree planting and after planting, the Regional Delegate of ENvironment and I were interviewed.

Some of the posters we made for our sensitization campaign can be seen below:

After planting, we moved to the Regional Delegation's conference room for the Desertification and Drought Quiz Prize Award. There, we had a word from the Regional Delegate who congratulated the participants of the Quiz and the day as well as appreciated the stakeholders for commemorating the day in grand style.
Cash prizes, books, pens, and transport allowance were then awarded to winners of the Quiz as well as participants of the event as you can see in the images below:

Regional Delegate and winners of the Desertification and Drought Quiz for University level

Regional Delegate and winners of the Desertification and Drought Quiz for Secondary and High School level

Regional Delegate and winners of the Desertification and Drought Quiz for Primary level

After the prize award, I coordinated with the stakeholders and we fundraised to share a drink and a meal at the Customs junction at Up Station Bamenda. There, I had a bottle of skoll vodka/beer and ate fish.
Left the event at 16:00 and drove home to drop off my kids at home. Got home at 17:00, changed into something comfortable, and then drove out to meet with a friend.

Got back home at 20:00, showered, ate Sharwama, and sent out a message of appreciation as you can see in the image below:

About 40 of us participated in the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Sensitization campaign but we are proud to have educated over 500,000 persons about desertification and drought via our sensitization walk and radio program, and planted 150 ornamental trees in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Are you passionate about environmental issues? Join Steem Environment, a global community of friends of nature and environmentalists

CC:
@steemitblog
@steem-cameroon
@saxopedia
@fombae
@chant
@majerius
@b-naj
@wase1234

The Greens is a grassroots environmental organization that strives to educate, inspire and engage young people to take action to combat climate change and be at the forefront of biodiversity conservation and waste management.