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A Civil Society Organisation, Kabetkache Women Development Resource Centre, has embarked on a capacity building for local communities in the Niger Delta region that are impacted by oil pollution, on how to treat their soil, while waiting for proper remediation.
The two-day training, which took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, had participants from Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States.
Speaking with journalists shortly after a practical session at a remediation site at Baraliagbo, Norkpo community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State, Executive Director, Kabetkache, Dr. Emem Okon, emphasised women’s role in remediation, noting that they are mostly impacted by pollution.
She explained that the organisation is training the participants on what remediation is and how to carry it out, adding that they have been advocating environmental remediation in the Niger Delta.
“We have campaigned against the pollution, we have campaigned for ecosystem restoration, and we also know that women have critical roles to play in protecting the environment and promoting environmental sustainability.
“So this is part of the process of enhancing what we have been doing, gaining capacity, gaining knowledge, acquiring skills on how to contribute to ecosystem restoration.
“So we have gone through this with NOSDRA yesterday, having the classroom discussions, and today, we are in the field to observe how it’s being done,” she said.
Some of the participants who spoke with THISDAY noted the importance of the training.
A participant from the Obele community in Emohua LGA in the state, Henry Eferebo, expressed happiness over the knowledge gained.
He said, “It’s not all about advocating that our lands have been polluted; it’s also about knowing what it takes to clean up the environment.
He advocated that communities should key into the activities that Kabetkache has started by setting up their indigenes, especially women, to understand the rudiments of cleanup processes.
On her part, Gloria Alexander, from Ibeno community in Akwa Ibom State, said one of the striking things she learnt in the course of the training was that every farmer is a re-creator.
“So, going back as a community leader, one of the things I’m going to really advocate, especially among the locals, especially women, is to let them know that as a woman, as long as you are a farmer, you can start the process of remediating your land.
“You don’t wait for any agency to come and help you. You start the process. As long as you are a farmer, you can do it,” she stated.
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