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Writes Chimeno Azriel
Chedonje Primary School won the prestigious Environmental Quiz Competition finals held at Highbury Hotel and Conference Center in Kadoma last Thursday. Sanyati District Primary schools converged at the magnificent hotel and battled each other for the coveted environmental quiz competition and learners proved that they were ready to fight climate change as well as preserve their environment.
The quiz finals comprised schools from urban and rural setups. Rural schools proved that they were well-versed in environmental issues and they were among the top 5 winners.
Twelve primary schools battled it out in the Nenyasha Mabhanga Trophy and they had to answer the general knowledge section, Human Health, Agriculture, Environment, and Conservation. Chedonje Primary came out top with 38 +1 points and went home with a floating trophy, the prize money, and stationery. It was followed by Chiguvare Primary School which accumulated 38 points and went home with prize money and stationery. The Cotton Research was the third with 37 points and went home with stationery. All the schools left the room with school stationery.
It was an interesting competition where four schools from rural setups proved that they were a force to reckon with and they were so knowledgeable and proved that they were ready to conserve the environment. Chiguvare Primary lost narrowly to the eventual winners through a sudden death question. Hozheli, Neuso, and Kasirisiri did not disappoint with commendable performances.
Speaking on the sidelines of the competition, Community Capacity Building Initiative Centre for Africa ( CCBICA) Director, Mr Rodreck Dick, said the teams were having quiz competitions in schools to develop and implement a culture of sustaining the environment.
“The quiz competition was meant to test the younger generations’ knowledge of Environmental issues and focus on the need to ensure that the present and future generations can benefit from environmental issues and the skills to fight climate change. With these quiz competitions, we are pushing educational resilience of NDS 1 goals so that children will be able to resist shocks in life and to make influence on the education and curriculum towards the environment,” said Mr Dick.
The teams believe in the ‘catch them young philosophy’ which is based on the belief that tomorrow’s environmentalists are groomed and taught today.
Sanyati District Forestry Extension Officer, Namatai Maunzagona, was the quiz master and she encouraged young ones to have a relationship with their environment so that they are left with the option of transforming the climate through improving their relationship with nature and with this they need to beat plastic pollution.
The Environmental Committee which comprises of Forestry Commission, CCBICA, Environmental Management Agency, and Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education organized the competition in partnership with the Highbury Hotel and Conference Center owner.
Mr. Billy, Dr. Langton Mabhanga, Johane Sithole (Murasta Mining), Edgar Gozho ( Gozho Mining ), and Dr. Kusangaya donated the prizes to help the learners gain more knowledge of Environmental issues and in the end, become the brand Ambassadors and also to engage the learners so that they are inspired to invest in the environment.
“Children need to inculcate the culture of tree growing and forest conservation and managing the environment in the daily lives of people hence the need to test the knowledge,” said Mrs Rollen Ndagurwa, who is the Sanyati District Environmental Technician with Environmental Management Agency (EMA) said.
Chedonje Primary School Quiz Director, Mr Darlington Zikali was over the moon as his troops managed to overcome other schools during the finals.
“I am very happy to see my team winning the finals and they did not panic. They were calm. This year, the trophy is ours and next year we are going to retain it,” said Zikali
Chiguvare Primary School Quiz Directors, Simba Chayamiti and Rumbidzai Tavaruva, praised their team for putting on a spirited performance and said they were unlucky to lose during the sudden death question.
Forests offer a wide range of goods and services for enhanced human health and well-being. Forests and trees purify the air people breathe, and provide food and a sustainable climate for Agricultural cultivation. They also absorb excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to fight climate change.
