October 2, 2016 New Sunday Times
By Olivia Miwil
Picture by Edmund Samunting
PENAMPANG: Government officers from third countries gave thumbs up to secondary students at SM St Michael here for their water conservation projects with local community.
Those students not only spread message about water at schools, but also helped to clear and improve water quality at the drain near Penampang Futsal centre here and clean farms at villages on weekly basis.
They also raise fund to supply water tanks to community, convince farmers to use organic fertilisers, as well as educate primary schoolchildren and few hotels on sustainable use of water usage especially in the washrooms.
Kenya wildlife service warden community relation officer Grace Musenya said she wanted to become an environmentalist right after watching students’ video presentations on their work.
“Fantastic and awesome are two words to describe those projects in protecting the environment.
“I look forward to share your video with my children, who are about your age, so that they will know what students in Malaysia are doing for the community,” she told the presenters during a recent visit to the school.
Philippines’s municipal agricultural officer Salilagia Pinondok said he was impressed with students’ perseverance in convincing local farmers to use organic to reduce pollution.
“In Mindanao, it is a daunting task to ask people to change as farmers only opt for chemicals that produce crops in shorter time.”
Musenya and Pinondok are among 20 participants of Third Country Training Programme 2016 organised by state government agencies and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) here to expose them on conservation management including at grassroots level.
SM St Michael was chosen as one of the site visits as the school had been embarking on environment conservation efforts with community since 2007.
The second oldest missionary school uses prize money won in competitions, donations from alumni, church and Parent-Teacher Association to fund their projects.
The third cycle of the programme, which began on Sept 8, would bring participants to visit Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre near here, Kinabalu Park, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Borneo Sun Bear Wildlife Sanctuary in Sandakan, Sukau, Abai and Lower Kinabatangan-Segama wetland in Kinabatangan; and several forest reserves.
The three-week programme is funded by Foreign Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
 |
| Third world countries government officers welcomed with traditional dance |
 |
| SM St Michael Form 1 students demonstrating n doing mudballs to government officers from third world countries. |
Comments
Post a Comment