Burhanudin Mohamud: The Quest For Environmental Conservation In Mandera

MANDERA, Kenya, Oct, 31 – Burhanudin Mohamud, is leading a group of about seven other youth in engaging in environmental conservation activities in Mandera County.

Under the Mazingira Alliance, a community-based organization, Mohamud is engaging in reforestation, agroforestry, training, and mentorship of students in the far-flanked county.

“We are engaged in environmental conservation, waste resource management, restoration, and biodiversity at the community level,” he said.

He adds, “Our main goal is to contribute to the legacy of a habitable, peaceful, green and clean environment for all, now and in the future.”

The team works closely with the professionals, business community, industrial players and local community members to ensure environmental interventions are solution oriented to prevailing environmental challenges.

The group has managed to plant at least 30,000 trees in five schools in Mandera for a period of three years since its inception.

“We have so far established five environmental clubs in schools and we have trained over 800 people in the conservation of the environment,”

Mohamud says the organization is facing a myriad of challenges including a lack of volunteers to engage in conservation.

“We pride ourselves in having a young dedicated team that is willing to be agents of change in our community,” he said.

Ms Hibaq Adan, a member, says Mandera is rich in natural resources that are yet to be discovered.

“Our county is endowed with a lot of natural resources that are yet to be discovered. We need to conserve the environment so that these resources don’t go to waste,” she said.

She has urged government agencies to help in the conservation of the environment.

“We are facing extinction fuelled by our own activities as human beings. We must lead a green lifestyle. We must know of our carbon footprint,” she said.

Their mission is to accelerate change adaptation and mitigation by catalyzing individual and community-level interventions that enhance well-being, livelihood security, environmental conservation, and sustainable asset-based community development.

“We are involved in the clean-up exercises in our major towns across the county and informing our society on waste management has been our business whenever we are out there cleaning our environment,” Mr. Mohamud said.