Uniting under the banner of environmental protection and conservation, the youths of Kitty One has urged the Gambia government to halt the activities of sand mining and indiscriminate dumping of waste around the community of Kitty.
Kitty One Organisation for Poverty Alleviation (KOOPA) made this call on Saturday April 20th, 2019 as they joined rest of the world to mark Word Earth Day. Recently the community of Kitty has come under intense pressure from the effects of environmental degradation among which is sand mining and indiscriminate disposal of waste.
“We invited all stakeholders to join us celebrate this day but sadly we haven’t seen any of them attending.”
“We want to use this day to sensitize the people about the importance of our environment knowing that Kitty and the surrounding is under serious environmental threat that needs urgent attention from stakeholders before it will be too late,” Gabriel Gomez, outgoing president of Kitty One Organisation For Poverty Alleviation (KOOPA) disclosed.
According to him, the activities of sand mining has caused serious problem for women gardeners most of whom have already abandoned their gardens as the mining activity draws closer to their gardens, also, the sand mining has made access to water a major problem for the women’s garden who used their proceeds to settle household issues.
“I would like to appeal to the authorities to take the issue of our environment very seriously because once these women lose their gardens as a result of sand mining their families will suffer,” he noted.
He called on Brikama Area Council to act now by ensuring that something is done about the indiscriminate dumping at the site to avoid adverse result to both human and animals.
Fatoumata Sanyang who is afraid of losing her gardening to the miners said her means of livelihood depend on the garden where she has been working for over five years.
“This is where I make money to take care of my family and now I am worrying knowingly that anytime soon I can lose my garden, already we are finding it difficult to water our gardens and if you have to force us out of these gardens where shall will we go, she said sorrowfully.
Simon Correa, the public relations officer of KOOPA also echoed the need for stake authorities to take environmental matters seriously, stating that once the environment is damage the repercussions it inflict on the society and ecosystem become grieve. He called for immediate ceasing of indiscriminate dumping and sand mining in Kitty.
