By Betty Luke
In Isiolo’s remote Kinna ward, a group of young reformists are rewriting their stories and those of their communities. Once trapped in the cycle of drug and substance abuse, Kinna Green Guardians are striving hard to restore the environment.
The group, with membership aged between 22-30 years old, was started in August last year with an aim to reclaim the environment that had been severely devastated by charcoal burning and the prolonged drought.
It had 12 pioneer members, three of whom are former drug addicts.
“We were pushed by the desire to change our lives. We came together and decided to plant trees to keep us engaged and as a way to give back to our society,” noted the group’s chairperson Nura Kara.
According to the official, the members initially contributed Sh 3,000 each which facilitated the group’s registration and land preparation on a 50 by100 plot donated by one of them.
They would later embark on collecting seeds from indigenous trees within the locality before putting up a seed bed.
“Some of our members relied on their small businesses to make their contributions while others were supported by their family members,” added Kara.
The group have been donating the seedlings to public schools, police stations and places of worship among other institutions and helping nurture the trees to maturity.
According to Mr Kara, they were keen on promoting the planting of Acacia trees that they said were at a risk of extinction due to charcoal burning. Unreliable weather conditions have pushed many of the locals to the activity since livestock keeping is proving unreliable.
“We intend to restore Acacia, which is so significant to our community, before it is completely wiped out,” he said.
The group also plant fruit trees, flowers and medicinal trees.
Despite a myriad of challenges including water scarcity, pests and diseases, they have managed to donate and oversee the planting of over 3000 tress across the schools, mosques and public offices.
“We decided to build a water harbor to collect water since it is rationed. However, it is not sufficient due to scarcity. We receive water once in a week making it hard for us to water our crops,” said Sadam Ali, a member of the group adding, “While some of our plants dry up, a significant number has shown resilience”
“A number of us were idle and got lured into drugs,” says another member. “Now we have something to wake up to every morning.”
The team now plans to embark on sensitizing school children on the adverse effects of deforestation and encourage them to plant trees in their neighborhood.
“We want to engage the next generation early enough because climate change has affected all of us,” Nura added.
Their short-term objective is to plant at least 10,000 more trees before the year ends as well as sensitize learners across the local primary schools.
They appealed for support to drill a borehole that they said would greatly boost their productivity and enable them earn some income.
“We are not here to make profit but if we would grow enough seedlings and earn an income, it will support those of us with no source of livelihood,” said Ismael Osman.
The team called on the residents to embrace clean sources of energy and shun charcoal use as a way protecting the environment.
In a dry region, the Kinna Green Guardians are a symbol of change. Their journey proves that with unity, purpose, and determination, young people can rise from adversity and transform their communities through home-grown initiatives.
