GULU STUDENTS URGED TO CHAMPION ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION BEYOND SCHOOLS

Students from Sacred Heart Secondary School present a dustbin made of plastic bottles to the deputy RCC Kamba Amir as a gift.

By Biko Rombe

Gulu City

Students who have completed patriotism training in Gulu City have been challenged to demonstrate their love for Uganda through practical environmental conservation, including waste management and participation in community cleaning exercises.

The call was made during the Gulu City Secondary Schools’ Joint Patriotism Pass Out 2026 held at Gulu High School, where students from participating secondary schools were passed out after undergoing patriotism training.

The Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Gulu City and chief guest, Kamba Amir, said patriotism should not only be associated with marching, uniforms or national ceremonies, but should also be reflected in how citizens take care of their communities.

“Patriotism helps us to promote civic responsibility. People doing what they are supposed to do. Participating in elections, taking national programs seriously like immunization, even environmental conservation is a civic responsibility,” Amir said.

He also urged the students to participate in the city’s national cleaning exercises, which are conducted on the last Saturday of every month.

He said loving one’s country should be demonstrated through practical action, including keeping the environment clean.  “We have national cleanings every last Friday or Saturday of the month. It has been going on now for some time. We’ve done it twice. Please, as a loving city, country, participate in these national cleaning days,” he said.

Amir also called on the students to respect national symbols, including the national anthem, the Uganda flag and the coat of arms, while encouraging them to love their neighbors and maintain clean surroundings.

He said the city is also promoting environmental clubs in schools and asked school heads to support such initiatives.

“We request you to support them. Let every school have an environmental club,” Amir said.

According to Amir, the initiative is intended to create platforms through which students can learn how to sort and manage different forms of waste, including solid, plastic and metallic waste, and then take the knowledge into their communities.

“We need a platform to use these ones, how to support children in schools and how they can go into communities. They help to sort waste, for example, solid waste, plastic waste, metallic clothes,” he said.

Amir said schools had sometimes made it difficult for the initiative to reach students, but expressed hope that schools would provide access to learners so the programme could be expanded.

The environmental message was also demonstrated by students during the pass-out.

Esther Lamoka-Simon, an environmentalist from Sacred Heart Secondary School and member of the school’s Gaia Guardians environmental club, said the club was formed to address environmental challenges affecting communities.

She said tree cutting, poor waste disposal and other human activities were contributing to environmental degradation. The students have responded by turning waste materials into useful products, including dustbins made from plastic bottles.

At Sacred Heart, she said, discarded bottles are not simply treated as waste.

The club collects the materials and converts them into dustbins in an effort to reduce littering and promote recycling.

Esther also credited the Gulu City leadership for supporting the environmental club since its formation in 2023.

Student Ocaya Emmanuel from St. Joseph’s College Layibi said environmental conservation was one of the lessons he took away from the patriotism training.

He said students were taught to recycle materials such as soda bottles and other waste.

He also noted that other schools demonstrated practical projects, including making dustbins from plastic bottles.

Obonyo Gerald Steven, a student from St. John Paul II College Gulu, said the training changed his understanding of the importance of maintaining a clean environment.

He said he intends to participate in activities that keep his surroundings clean and encouraged residents to join the city’s monthly cleaning exercises. He said the last Saturday of every month should be used as an opportunity for residents to join hands and clean the city for better health.

Another student, Atieng Monica of St. John Paul II College Gulu, said environmental protection should be treated as a responsibility to future generations.

She said she and her colleagues intend to make dustbins, collect litter and encourage other students to use them.

“When we allow our environment be destroyed, the next generation will have nowhere to live in and it’s our responsibility to take care of our environment,” she said.

The environmental conservation message also featured in the wider patriotism programme. The Office of the President lists environmental protection and conservation among the values promoted through its patriotism programme.

For the students who completed the training, organisers now want the environmental lessons to move from the parade ground into schools, homes and communities

Written by newsroom-radiopacis