ADMIRABLE ENVIRONMENTALIST - PYHLLIS OMIDOby Yvonne Wabai | 21-02-2017 02:26 |
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Before Wangari Maathai, very few people could identify as environmentalists in Kenya. Wangari Maathai 'gave' Kenyans the gift of environmentalism. Her spirit lives on in the work of Phyllis Omido, one of the 6 recipients for the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize. Phyllis's work begun when she was working as a community liaison officer in a lead smelting plant located in the middle of Owino Uhuru, a slum near Mombasa. She commissioned an environmental impact assessment of the plant, the results of which showed that the plant was releasing lead into the environment. Additionally, shortly after starting work at the plant, she discovered that her son was suffering from lead poisoning. She selected 3 children at random and tested them for lead poisoning and the results came back positive too. She then quit her job and started protesting for the closure of the plant. In 2012, she and her son were attacked by a group of armed men outside her home but they managed to escape. In 2009, she founded the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA) to fight for the cause and after getting no response from company leaders and government officials, she organized demonstrations and was consequently arrested, along with 16 other members of the CJGEA.She was charged with inciting violence but the bogus charges were dropped by the magistrate and she got help from Human Rights Watch and other groups, prompting the Kenyan Senate to assess the claims leading to the closure of the plant in January 2014. She is still an active environmentalist and has attended UNEP conferences as well as human rights seminars all over the world in a bid to shine the light on the environmental issues in Kenya. She is also fighting for the closure of 3 toxic waste smelters that were relocated to other poor urban settlements in Mombasa. She is a true champion of the community. References. 1. Wikipedia.
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