MY 2014 WED RADIO INTERVIEW

I went to the manager of my university radio station,UNIZIK94.1FM,where I also work as a presenter and told her of my programmes for the 2014 WED celebrations while also seeking for an hour interview to enhance my awareness campaign.
My station manager,in addition to sending reporters to cover my programmes for the World Environment Day,granted me a 50 minute live interview on Tuesday 10th June,2014 on one of the flagship programmes of our station,ISSUES.
It was an interview I needed to help me reach out to a larger audience easily and I spoke on virtually all aspects of the environment.The interview which started at 10am,lasted for 45minutes.

My talks mainly revolved around the "do's"  and "don't's" for a save and healthy environment as well as making a passionate plea to my people to consider the environment a priority and treat it as one while I also took out time to explain to the huge audience the theme for this year's event especially the meaning of "the Small Island Developing States" as many were yet to understand what the SIDS meant but after my interview, it became clearer to them.
Many people congratulated me on the interview as it was an eye-opener to them.
You can listen to the radio interview or download it here:
 http://bit.ly/1lWU5sN    or      https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4UauN-C5hTlUlV2TXJvM054MWc/edit?usp=sharing


MY VISIT TO ST. LUCY SECONDARY SCHOOL AS PART OF MY WED EVENT

This year's World Environment Day celebration was my best ever. I was determined to give it my best shot no matter what it will cost me.
So,I had some schools in mind where I wanted to complete my world environment day event. But it was the midterm break period for most secondary schools and I had to wait for another week to be able to speak to the management of my target schools.
After serious consideration, I settled for St. Lucy Secondary school Ifite-Awka,Anambra state,Nigeria. Then,I set out to meet the principal of the school. I arrived the school and met some members of staff who I asked the way to the principal's office. They showed me and I headed straight for the office.The principal was quite welcoming and  after introducing myself and TUNZA Eco-Generation, I told the principal the reason for my visit which was to request for a chance to speak to the students and teachers on the need to prioritize environmental care as part of my activities to mark the 2014 World Environment Day. The principal told me that they use part of their Thursday moral instruction time as forum for visitors to speak to students but that a particular group has been lined up for that week.
However, he told me of his love for the environment and how he has been on the neck of his students when it comes to environmental care. He said he has been wishing for someone to come and speak to the students on the environment and  for that reason,he offered me 30 minutes to speak to the students on Thursday, 18th June,2014 from 8:30am to 9:00am.
I thanked him for granting me this great chance to speak to his students and promised to keep the appointment as scheduled.

Now, it was Thursday, the 18th day of June,2014. I was at the school as scheduled and the principal,  Rev.fr. Ephraim Udoye  ,was on hand to receive me. As soon I arrived, he ordered some teachers to get the students settled for my lecture.
Soon, the principal led me to the school's assembly ground where the students where already seated and he started by calming them down before introducing me.

I went up the stage and introduced myself and TUNZA Eco-Generation, and then thanked the principal for offering me that chance.
In Nigeria, while speaking to students, it is commonplace for the speaker to say(in a high tune):
"Great Nigerian students!"
while the students responds:
"Great!"
So,I started by connecting with the students and it went this way:
Me: Great Nigerian students!
Students: Great!
Me: Great Nigerian students!!
Students: Great!!
Me: Great Nigerian students!!!
Students: Great!!!
and then with that,I have already built a link with them using what they can relate to.
I did it that way because environment issues are not normally discussed here in Nigeria with the seriousness and passion it deserves,so if I went straight to the topic without linking up well with them,my talks may sound alien to them.

My topic was still "Small Island Developing States and Climate Change" but I brought it down to their level for easy understanding.
So,I now delved into  explaining the "Small Island Developing States" to the students before bringing my talks down to our immediate environment.
I defined climate change and told of how global warming is the major causes of climate change. I drew their attention to the GHGs(Greenhouse Gases) especially Carbon dioxide and told why they must avoid or at the very least, reduce their activities that put those gases in the atmosphere and I also let them know how their activities here affect the SIDS who despite just contributing very little emissions annually,feel the huge rout of climate change.
At this point, I introduced the slogan for this year's celebration," Raise your voice,not the sea level" and explained how they raise the sea level knowingly or unknowingly. We chanted the slogan thus:
Me: Raise your voice
Students: Not the sea level
Me: Raise your voice
Students: Not the sea level
Together (All):Raise your voice, not the sea level.
I talked much on deforestation as they are directly involved and told them how important the trees are in helping to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. I also spoke to them on ways to reduce the output of waste especially non-biodegradable wastes.
I summarized by encouraging them to do the following that TUNZA Eco-Generation advise(I got this from the TUNZA Eco-Generation Climate Change School Kit):

* Stop cutting down forests as trees absorb and fix Carbon dioxide naturally.

* Use natural light during daytime and cut down the use of electricity.

* Use public transport frequently and prevent carbon emission into the atmosphere.

* Eat local and seasonal food and prevent carbon emissions through transportation of food from great distances and energy expended on storage respectively.

* Use CFL/LED lamps as they consume less electricity than incandescent bulbs. Compost the biodegradable waste instead of burning.

* Adjust thermostats, switch off fans, lights, Air Conditioners when they are not in use to cut down electricity use.

* Use cloth bags and reduce the use of plastic bags.

* Cycle/walk for short distances and cut down use of fossil fuels.

My speech became even more interesting while I was about rounding off as I had an interactive question and answer session with the students who where so eager to get involved. I promised gifts for two persons who will get my two questions right and intetestingly,the outcome was balanced as a girl and a boy emerged as my winners. I presented them with gifts from TUNZA Eco-Generation,encouraging them to read it while promising them that I will order for promotional goods from TUNZA Eco-Generation to enable me have more gifts for them when next I visit. I ended by thanking them for their time and they were visibly excited by my coming as they took time to reflect on my speech  in small groups when I left the stage.

There were more reasons for me to get excited after delivering my speech as two young teachers in the school,who I had observed to be enjoying my speech really well,walked up to me and congratulated me on my speech. They expressed their happeiness at having me come to speak in their school. It became more worthwhile when they told me of their interest in  the environment before revealing to me that they studied Environmental Sciences in the University. I was so happy to hear that and have already linked up well with them. I told them that they will be important in helping me build a strong network of people passionate about the environment as well as helping carry out some projects I will come up with for the environment. They all were indeed happy.
The reporter that came with me asked got some feedbacks,on my speech, from the some students who confessed that they have learned many things.
I spent and sacrificed a lot to celebrate the World Environment Day here in Nigeria but I am glad I did.I was indeed worth it.
I have some moments of my visit to St. Lucy Secondary School Ifite Awka, captured in this short video here:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4UauN-C5hTleUp3anhwLU9RNG8/edit?usp=drive_web


(NB:The event was not fully captured by the video man)