Download ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB WATCH

[Communities development through activities of volunteers in Ghana ]
September 2013
ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB WATCH – DOGS
Written by Alma Nuhić (Ecology and Conservation, BSc)
Participating as a volunteer in year 2013
»However I would like to show social responsibility to the children, whose talents
and energies are just waiting to be released«
T
hrough this three months long
activity program inside of EVS
Creativity
for
Empowerment
project in Ghana 2013 I get an
opportunity to work inside the Hosting
organisation Embracing Hidden Talent
Network. My main goal is to make some
impact
indicatives
to
improve
educational and the principles of
environmental sustainable development.
As a volunteer of this project I am
focused
on
Active
Environmental
Education in two local Junior High
schools, one is in Yakaw and another is
in Azani community. In both places I
work with group of children selected in
advance from their principal teachers.
By observing and comparing the
differences and similarities in societies
and culture in communities I decided not
to teach them only about science and
ignore the culture that is more than just
art and music. So I choose a method to
combine their daily practical routine
with theoretical and experimental part of
activities. With participating of children
we establish Environmental club Watch –
dogs, to raise awareness about
environmental issues on Local – Global
level. Together we agree that we will
observe people activities in communities
and try to correct them in case we see
that their activities have harmful effect on
Environment. From my point of view that
is a good way to show children that with
our Lifestyle we all make impact on
Nature, but with the availability of
information
that
are
essential
prerequisite we can make reasonable
public action – and that start at our home
and community.
To encourage their creativity, visual
imagination and express their own
opinion about problems – solutions in
waste management I use a method to
teach them how to make new products
from old materials, by using Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle concept. As a result
we make wallets from sachet water bags,
bracelets from plastic bottles, toys from
food packages, wedding flowers from
old paper, candlestick from glass bottle,
bags from old clothes or plastic bags and
badges from different bottles cover. For
me that was good indicator that helped
me notice, that they learn appropriate
handling of the tools and quickly skills of
life, while they struggle and find
difficulty with the fine art, drawing,
designed and describe experiment we
made on different topics.
[Communities development through activities of volunteers in Ghana ]
September 2013
answers already provided. Their task
was to choose the most proper answer
and each answer had amount of money
that they had to invest and Eco - points in
developing of Eco – Village. The group
that had more points and was left with
more money for further investment in
sustainable living in village won the
game. What I learned was that they were
prepared to maintain their surrounding
environment and that they have different
sense than we do of the balance between
individual freedom and responsibility to
their communities what really fascinated
me.
Students in Azani are preparing
experiment to filtrate the water.
Bracelets made out of plastic bottles
are designed by students of Yakaw.
After that I use another approach to uplift
their critical thinking , observe problems
and find proper solutions was playing
the game how to build their own Eco –
Village. I divided them into 2 groups,
gave them amount of investment money
and eleven questions with more possible
As an active participant of sustainable
living my intention was to pass them
accumulated knowledge also about
homemade organic products. By visiting
children`s home I was able to see their
social background or minority group that
they live in. That gave me a clue how to
include
their
daily
sustainable
maintenance of living into opportunity to
think about organic products, that
nowadays
society
in
developing
countries start to pay more and more
attention to it. At the end they were
teaching me through their
full
description of their homemade goods
such as sweet polo, body soaps and
washing soaps, dry fishes, coconut or
palm oil, groundnut butter and gari as an
income and the way how to maintain
their living.
»Moreover children schooling clearly
affects children`s ability to participate
in their communities and societies in
both Present and Future«