Erick Saddam – Kwetu Yetu CBO

7Jun2025

Erick Saddam Food Security, Holidays June 7, 2025June 14, 2025 0 Comments

World Food Safety Day

Food security is a serious concern all over the world, and mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
This has worsened over time due to climate change, which has led to a lot of other factors that make the situation worse.

They include erratic rainfall and reduced quantities, long duration of drought, increased pests and diseases, changes in temperature, especially on the higher side, and some areas that were never known to snow have had frost covering the ground, destroying crops.

Pest and plant diseases are on the rise, which necessitates the use of strong pesticides, leading to resistance and harm to the environment. Aflatoxins that results from certain type of moulds have worsened the food security and human health situation. The moulds grow on the food crops during harvest and post-harvest during storage. The attack is mainly on cereals like maize, rice, wheat,t that act as staple food for many communities, as well as nuts like groundnuts and other oil-producing crops.

The main groups of aflatoxins threatening human health and food security are G1, G2, B1 and B2, amongst others. They increase the chances of liver cancer, liver failure, immunosuppression and stunted growth in children. (Jolly et al, 2006). The most surprising thing about this silent killer is that it is not easily recognised with the naked eye and it continues to exist in the food chain when contaminated animal feed is fed to animals that are used af food or produce food products eaten by human being,s such as eggs, meat and even milk.

Article by Julia Wahome

6Jun2025

Erick Saddam Cleanup, Environment June 6, 2025June 14, 2025 0 Comments

Rising Star Environmental Cleanup Drive

Kwetu yetu participated in a street clean-up organised by the Rising Stars organisation to commemorate World Environment Day 2025.

As an organisation that enhances the capacity of the people on matters related to the environment and sustainable Livelihoods, Kwetu yetu got a chance to share information about plastic pollution, especially the microplastics, to the cleanup participants.

Kenya produces about 966,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year, of which only 6- 10 % is recycled.
About 60% of this waste is single-use plastic, which gets discarded in the streets and ends up being washed into the rivers and oceans in the coastal areas.

Plastics also contaminate other water bodies as well as the soil, especially when they break down into microplastics.
The people of goodwill who had gathered at the stadium after a successful street clean-up were surprised when the kwetu yetu assistant chairperson, Julia Wahome, shared about microplastics being discovered in the blood and other body fluids.

The reality is that we are shooting ourselves in the foot by carelessly discarding the plastic waste into the environment because studies have shown that cases of microplastics in the brain have increased by 50% from previous years.

Microplastics have also been reported in human semen and in the placenta. It is evident that we are literally killing ourselves from the source.

As an organisation, we advocate for everyone, especially in the urban areas where more plastic wastes are produced, to accept the call to segregate the waste, recycle what is recyclable and decompose all the biodegradable waste to enrich our soil.

We also call upon the government and all enforcement agencies to ensure all business premises have a waste management unit before trickling down the same to individual households.
We can win the plastic pollution war only if we come together as people, as a nation and as a globe.

Event link: Rising Stars Environmental Cleanup Drive

22Apr2025

Erick Saddam Environment, Holidays April 22, 2025April 29, 2025 0 Comments

World Earth Day

Earth day began being celebrated in 1970 in the USA. The initial aim was to recognize the earth as the provider of all the resources we need for our survival and also ways we can give back by protecting it from harm.

In his write-up #LaudatoSí, the late Pope Francis ( may he rest in peace) encouraged Christians and the world at large to care for the Earth and keep it beautiful as God created it and intended it to be.

Unfortunately several decades later a threat to the earth was created by man in the name of plastics and it has threatened the very life of the earth by choking the oceans,the rivers,and the city streets.

Man in his endeavor to reduce the waste on the surface of the earth, resulted in heaping the waste in small and bigger piles in different corners where humans live and then set it ablaze producing deadly fumes.

This has brought about respiratory problems to the people living around the dumpsite. It has also resulted in micro plastic poisoning. This occurs when the plastics break down in very tiny particles due to acts of nature which later get into the food chain when they are eaten by fish and other edible organisms .
Medical reports have shown micro plastics is semen and blood clot samples as well as other vital fluids of the body.

On Earth Day 2025, we are encouraged to embrace the circular economy, which leads to #zerowaste in the effort to #beatplasti,c which is the #theme for #earthday2025

This can happen if people agree to segregate waste at source (office/home) and reuse what can be reused and rot all the biodegradable materials.
Plastic containers can be used as a balcony garden (as in the photo) therefore keeping it from going to the dumpsite or even worse to be washed down to our rivers and oceans.

Article by Julia Wahome

16Apr2025

Erick Saddam Energy, Environment, Training April 16, 2025April 19, 2025 0 Comments

Renewable and Sustainable Sources of Energy

Sustainable use of energy is critical to improvement of the quality of life as well as promotion of environmental protection.

Use of renewable and sustainable sources of energy for cooking in rural areas reduces incidents of respiratory diseases especially amongst women and children who spend a lot of time in the smoke filled kitchens that are usually not well ventilated. This will not only save the forests but will reduce the medical burden on the health sector as well as the households.

Biogas, energy efficient stoves,small solar lights and making charcoal briquettes from plant biomass are some of the ways to introduce sustainable energy use in rural areas.

Enhancing the capacity of the rural communities on energy conservation as well as emerging technologies would go a long way in the achievement of energy sustainability.

Giving financial and other incentives would encourage the communities to access as well as embrace energy conservation methods.
For example provision of daily or beef cows and biogas as a loan or grant would make biogas accessible to farmers .

Implementation of policies and regulations governing the energy sector is very important in the promotion of energy conservation. This would include tax waiver in the importation of renewable energy equipment, ensuring that builders are abiding by the energy efficiency regulations and standards.

Energy conserving jiko made from mud and cement in Magarini

2Feb2025

Erick Saddam Environment, Holidays February 2, 2025February 4, 2025 0 Comments

Happy World Wetlands Day

Wetland ecosystems are covered by either salt, fresh and in-between water permanently or seasonally.
They offer very important ecosystem services for the stability of the environment and our future

The benefits include nutrient cycling, water cycling, acting as a habitat for macro and microorganisms, ecotourism sites, reduce the risk of flooding amongst others due to the increase in population and hence the increase in demand for building land or just sheer human greed, the wetlands are at great risk of being encroached. This will translate to the loss of all the ecosystem services and a lot of species, as well as the risk of loss of human life due to floods, water shortages, or disease outbreaks due to the lack of filtration service that wetlands offer.

We can however protect the wetlands by avoiding encroaching on them by implementing the guidelines provided by the law and also penalizing the encroaching parties.
Rehabilitation of the wetlands that have been destroyed by planting the right species for the area, especially the indigenous trees and grasses. Bamboo is a great species for the rehabilitation of wetlands and more species can be found in the Jaza Miti App that was developed by the Kenya forestry research institute in partnership with the Ministry of environment in Kenya.

Non-extractive use like bird watching, beekeeping, kayaking, and sustainable fishing amongst other economic activities may encourage the neighbouring communities to protect the Wetland because of the direct benefit they get. Sensitization of the community members including school children on the importance of wetlands is important as most people view them as an ecosystem that needs to be “corrected ” by draining them or filling them up.

As we celebrate this year’s World Wetlands Day, let us rethink our attitude towards the wetland ecosystems for the safety of our own future and that of the many species that depend on them.