Don McMath Foundation School in collaboration with the Synergy of Expatriate Educators recently celebrated the First Earth Day in The Gambia at their school premises at Kotu.

Julie Netti, an American visiting Educator says, “Today is the first Earth Day celebration in The Gambia. It started in 1978 when people gathered and discussed all what Earth Day was about. On this day we let people know about the earth and the awareness that we can take of the earth. A week is set aside for the awareness creation on Earth Day starting from 22nd April,” she said.

At the school’s assembly, children were educated about the earth and how to care for it. She said the earth is the only earth they have so it should be cared for. She showed the children video of how the earth cries after choking it with pollution. “Factories, motors boats, cars, bikes are all pollutants,” she said. She said if they do not take care of the earth, it will disappear and we would pay for it.

Children demonstrated the importance of the wind that blows from here to other parts of the world.

Israel Onele, the Director of Synergy of Expatriate Educators SEEG, the Gambia , said, “Today we are not only taking today as Earth Day, it should be every day. I will make it possible for other schools to be part of the Earth Day celebration. President Jammeh talks about cleanliness and has set a pace, we need to compliment his effort.

The children of Don McMath Foundation sang their school song and planted fruit trees. They promised to keep their school clean. The school sang a happy birthday song for the earth.