School Outreach Programme Aims to Engage Youth

The recently finalised OKACOM Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (2020) outlines the need to effectively implement outreach and engagement across inclusive segments of the three member states.  A key segment  identified  is youth within the CORB who represent a crucial stakeholder with regards to idiating solutions for sustainable development to address challenges within their immediate environment. In alignment with the OKACOM vision, youth engagement entails cultivating a knowledge seeking culture, empowering youth with information and offering relevant support which allows impactful actions to be carried out proactively by them.

Over the past 5 years educational material and resources have been developed through the support of partners such as the Swedish International Cooperating Agency (SIDA), USAID and National Geographic. One of the flagship resources is the production of the River Cousins comic book which uses story-telling to generate interest and educate school-going youth about the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB).  Other materials include maps of the Basin, informational brochures on the CORB and photographic books.

" It is important that we invest into creating awareness amongst  the youth and thus empower them with useful knowledge about their environment and water as a natural resource. The OKACOM vision aims to improve the livelihoods of Basin communities and this means leaving no one behind, including the youth who play an important role." said Tracy Molefi, the OKACOM Programmes Coordinator,  during a visit to Ciclo do Ensino Secundário,  in Menongue, Angola, where students from the school participated in a CORB Information Session. The session was engaging and interactive, with many students posing pertinent questions about downstream activities in the CORB and general curiosity regarding  environmental challenges. During the session, OKACOM handed over maps, booklets and brochures developed in Portuguese for dissemination throughout the school.

As part of further implementing the Strategy, OKACOM is actively identifying opportunities for engagement, education and outreach with measurable impact on the youth population of Basin communities in all three member states.  This includes  the support of learner-led Environmental Clubs based at schools, where subjects such as Life Science and Chemistry allow for students to have a background in the management of natural resources. This support will encompass learner-led initiatives,  such as clean-up campaigns, training on how to monitor water quality and creating awareness within communities, at schools located within the Basin.  One such activity has been the support of the Maria Mwengere Secondary School, located in Kavango-East region in Namibia, where the school Environmental Club has initiated visits to the nearby river and clean-up campaigns. A similar approach will be taken in early 2022 to identify relevant schools within the Ngamiland District of Botswana.