Kibabii University celebrated the annual Prof. Wangari Mathai day on Wednesday 3rd March 2021. The exercise was also in honor of the University’s Environment and Wellness ambassador – Olympic qualifier Ms. Faith Ogallo, a third-year student in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences pursuing Social Work. She made Kenya proud in the Taekwondo heavyweight African Olympic qualifiers finals in Rabat, Morocco on 23rd February,2020. The 12th all African games silver medalist and Dubai G2 bronze medalist earned Kenya an Olympic slot after a twelve year wait to qualify for the Tokyo Japan Olympics which will be held in July 2021. Her environment ambassadorial role came out of a challenge from the Vice Chancellor Prof. Isaac Ipara Odeo after her Olympic qualification. Prof. Ipara had challenged her to play a role of giving back to society. She chose to do this through environmental conservation.
To mark the day, the Vice Chancellor led a tree planting exercise where an assortment of fruit and medicinal trees were planted. The symbolic seedlings were donated by various environmental champions including Ms. Sophie Waliaula, Dr. Alice Mutai, Mr. B. M. Nasongo, Ms. Faith Ogallo among other environmental enthusiasts.
In attendance was the Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor (ASA) Prof. Stanley Mutsotso, Chairman of the Environmental Management Committee Dr. Onganyi Obino, Dean of students Dr. Alice Mutai, Games and Sports students and a host of staff members.
In his speech, Prof. Mutsotso urged the Kibabii fraternity to carry out the exercise with Professor Wangari Mathai’s call of the humming bird.
“I am very glad that we all decided to carry out this exercise as a tree doesn’t have only one advantage but other than providing shade, we can rely on trees to get food and also medicine,” Prof. Mutsotso said.
“I am glad that as an Institution we are able to celebrate this day of a Kenyan who left a legacy and she is still being celebrated even after her death. A lot of things concerning nature come from our originality as Africans and education is not all about passing exams but how holistic the process is. We should therefore not wait for a perfect opportunity to start doing something but use the available minimal resources to pursue our dreams,” Said the Vice Chancellor in reference to Prof. Wangari Mathai.
In commemoration of this day, the University through the Office of the Dean of Students launched the Green Growth Desk which is a management infrastructure that seeks to facilitate the integrated business process into the path of Green Economic Growth that uses natural resources in a sustainable manner. The goal of the desk is to catalyze University students, staff and key development stakeholders to mobilize, train and engage over 200 Green Champions per an academic year of green initiative activities to the community level.
It will facilitate the goal of environmental sustainability through various initiatives such as;
- Tree planting
- Creating environmental awareness
- Smart farming
- Proper waste collection and disposal
- Alternative energy sources (Green Energy)
The University is to benefit from the desk’s programs as it will ensure the creative use of the local environment including learning institution grounds to provide innovation, technology and investment opportunities for young people and women.
The Taekwondo, Karate, Soccer, Athletics and Badminton teams also presented their trophies to the Vice Chancellor. The trophies were won during the Western Universities Sports Association competition held on 27th February at Rongo University.
