Marine Environment Day in Kenia
The Kenya Wildlife Service celebrated Marine Environment Day 7 July with more than 200 schoolchildren who performed dramas, recited poems, and sang songs in a message to the audience and the wider Kenyan public on the need to protect our seas from further degradation.
The occasion was compelling and vibrant with the Deputy Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Ben Kavu and Ali Mohamed from The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) among the dignitaries. The chorus of appeals rang out to mitigate the threats to marine life and for those present to give a chance to future generations.
The YOD Kenya Partners, Pollmans Tours & Safaris, were represented by Abdulaziz Abdalla as an official guest and also as a member of the Marine Environment Day committee. YoD had an educational stand during the function as a platform to raise awareness of those present on the plight of the dolphins.
The highlight and centre piece attraction was Mfalme, a giant real life sized whale made from flip-flops by 26,000 members of the women’s group from the local communities of Kiunga and Shimoni. This whale will be used by YOD partners in the Watamu and Shimoni launch later this year in an arrangement with NEPAD and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPCA) who together met the cost of making Mfalme.
The Assistant Director, Kenya Wildlife Service- Coast, Phillip Mwakio announced to the gathering that the day also recognized the on-going awareness campaign on the Year of the Dolphin and called for concerted and collective efforts to protect cetaceans. 500 YoD Dolphin Manuals were presented to the schoolchildren and to the winning teams that performed during the occasion.
