As the summer season approaches in Ethiopia, many youth participate in diverse areas of voluntary services. The services include blood donating, road traffic coordinating, planting seedlings, fund raising and so on.
Yet there is a growing demand for volunteers participation in environmental protection and conservation activities, preventing human trafficking and harmful traditional practices, education and health service, and other societal security activities said Yalemtsehay Asfaw, Minister of Women, Children and Youth.
Cognizant of the fact volunteerism is a moral issue, every part of the society should play pivotal role for creating moral society, safe environment and better Ethiopia ahead she added.
Gebreselassie Atsbaha, Deputy Head of Development Department for Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOC-DICAC) told The Ethiopian Herald that both religious and non-religious civil society organizations should play a pivotal role in mobilizing the society to engage themselves in environmental protection and sanitation.
The commission is engaged in many of environmental protection and sanitation areas coupled with discharging its responsibility in creating capacity for its followers to encourage their social integration. Perhaps there are some limitations on involving individuals in environmental protection and sanitation.
“We are also working with volunteers to create safe and clean environment across the country as the cleaning is the process used to achieve the clean condition,” he noted.
According to him the commission together with other civil societies and all stakes should work hand in hand with the government for creating clean and safe environment. Acts must be going on through mobilizing the community.
Additionally the government should also encourage civil societies to invest their potential on this issue correspondingly giving professional support for them. The society also engages itself in protecting its environment coupled with practicing social integration on sadness and happiness period he added.
On his part Mesfin Tadesse, Communication Affairs Director for the Agency for Civil Society Organization said civil society organizations have a momentous role in order to build values of the society. There up on the government should facilitate this project by engaging the organizations. Perhaps government used to deliver active license provision system and encourage them to work with their capacity.
Apart from this the agency should provide capacity building campaigns and other related activities focusing on the issue in relation with the proclamation. Indeed sanitation programs focus on preventing activities, it is better for building societies’ and organizations’ capacity predominantly. It is also important to include this issue in volunteerism projects.
He also asserted that civil society organizations are an alert for the government to work for the society. As a result things must improve in modifying the societies’ problem in accordance with environmental protection and sanitation. The government on his part should also make intensive follow up on the organization whether they are working with their license.
On the other hand the society also need to take its own part on environmental protection and sanitation areas. Unless each individual, volunteers, government and stakes work together on the issue, it is so difficult to create clean and safe environment so far.
Meanwhile citizens must get aware of the merits and demerits of safety environment. What matters in volunteerism is how big our heart is and how our character is.
In fact as per the endeavor towards realizing 4 billion seedlings transplantation at a national level this year; many governmental and non-governmental, religious and non-religious institutions are transplanting many seedlings in every corner. So it will perhaps decrease problems related with the climate change.
Similarly 12.7 million youths have been registered to participate in volunteering activity across the country in various programs for the rainy season of this fiscal year according to Yalemtsehay. This is crucial for solving social, economic and good governance problem of the society, she added. Therefore this potential can bring out fruitful result in conserving, protecting, and cleaning the environment across the country.
Apart from volunteerism and environmental protection activities, “Ethiopian government is also planned to make Ethiopia open defecation free country by 2024” said Dr. Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy. As to him responsible consumption and conservation are ways to solve environmental problems.
It is important to recognize, however, that creating wealth and protecting the environment coexist. The environment cannot be protected by conservation alone. Wealth and surplus must provide the resource mainly energy to maintain order and keep objects and places clean.
The Ethiopian Herald June 22/2019
BY HIZKEL HAILU
