Governor Natembeya Issues Free beehives, Energy Saving jikos to Over 200 vulnerable Slum Dwellers
Over 200 vulnerable slum dwellers in Kitale and community groups from across the county had a reason to smile Thursday after they were issued with free energy saving jikos and top bar beehives from the county government.
Governor George Natembeya, flanked by top county officials, issued out the Jiko Okoa and beehives to beneficiaries at a grand ceremony held at the Water Resource Authority offices in the outskirts of Kitale town.
Distribution of the energy saving jikos that is also supported by the World Bank funded Financing Locally Led (FLLoCA) program is part of the wider strategies by the county administration to combat Climate Change which is a global menace.
Addressing participants at the suspicious occassion, Natembeya said that the action was meant to support the vulnerable community members, mostly women who cook at household levels to use little charcoal and reduce emissions of carbon into the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide is one of the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emitted into the atmosphere as a result of combustion and greatly contributes to global warming by breaking the ozone layer and subsequently retaining heat on the Earth’s surface.
Natembeya noted that the jikos will help cut down on charcoal usage and thereby reduce chopping down of trees from the forests which is part of the challenges that has been contributing to Climate Change.
“The traditional three-stones meko have seen our women expose themselves to health risks as they inhale the emmited smoke that also affects their eyesights and we are progressively doing away with them,” said Natembeya.
He added that the program will gradually be scaled high to ensure that more households are reached citing that slum areas of Matisi, Shimo la Tewa and Tuwan among others had been picked for piloting due to the high vulnerability.
The county boss called on the beneficiaries to use the jikos for their own use at home and rather not to exchange them for monetary gains just as he got an assurity from the ululating women who were filled with jubilation.
“I’ll be paying visits to your homes and this Christmas I may come to some of your homes for the festivities and it will be great if you serve me a meal that will have been prepared on the jikos you’re receiving today,’ said Natembeya amid cheers and shouts of welcoming remarks.
At the same time, the governor handed beehives to community groups as alternative livelihoods with the view of encouraging them to conserve the environment that is a habitat for the bees as they earn from honey and its products.
Water, Environment, Natural Resource and Climate Change (WENRCC) County Executive Sam Ojwang emphasized the need for communities to conserve the environment to mitigate the effects of Climate Change that has immensely impacted on the livelihoods of the people negatively.
Ojwang rallied the public to back Governor Natembeya’s bid to make Trans Nzoia green by growing trees, especially fruit trees that also act as a source of livelihoods other than acting as carbon sinks.
His sentiments were echoed by the department Chief Officer Dorothy Nyukuri who also revealed of plans by the Environment sub sector to spearhead the making of briquettes as a source of energy for homesteads.
Ms Nyukuri emphasized the need to conserve the wetlands and other catchment areas noting that Trans Nzoia is lucky to be the only county with two out of the five major water towers in the country hence need for protection.
The issuance of the beehives and energy saving jikos was a culmination of a training to equip the users with the right skills for use and to advance their livelihoods in a sense that ensures sustainable environmental management practices.
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