Day 2

Rotaract Club of Keroggie was invited to a tree planting event organized by Peace and Green Initiative because we networked with the initiative on a forum organized by the American Embassy in Ethiopia. In this forum, the club presented one of its signature projects called Greening Africa and its other environmental projects as well and also had an opportunity to network with institutions working on environment protection.

The event was held in an area which is found in one of the pockets in the centers of the city. It has a basketball court and there are green fields. It is quiet and a good place to relax although Addis is blamed for not having areas designated for parks and recreation. 

Gash Tamiru, who is the founder of Peace and Green Initiative, officially started the event by telling us to breath following it with the question why we breath and from where we get our air. Of course everyone who went to elementary school knows from where air comes but how many of us contribute to the production of it? Air is a fundamental need for life for nothing can exist without it and yet we only consume it. It is common knowledge that the air we breathe is being polluted. Its quality is reducing. And yet, many of us don’t contribute to its improvement. This happens because air is taken for granted most times by many of us. We mostly don’t think about it unless we hear something about climate change on the news all the while knowing that the air we breathe is being affected and our very source of life is under threat. In reality what is expected of us is very simple. Planting trees and taking care of them.

There is an old Greek saying which goes, “Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” When someone brings the idea of planting trees, many people I know give reasons like, “I don’t have time” or “I’m busy” or they never take this issue seriously. But nothing can exist without air and air exists when there are trees. Therefore, we need to contribute to the existence of air by planting trees.

After the speeches, the tree planting commenced. Members of Rotaract Club of Keroggie planted many trees. The community that lived around there promised to take care of them. Whenever our members pass by that area, we also promised to check up on them. Not only did we plant trees in our community, we planted trees in our minds as well. One that will grow and help us create a condition where we can live healthy lives for years to come.