Yesterday was no ordinary day for the students of the American Academy for Girls in Salwa, as they marked International Earth Day with an award ceremony for the students who participated in a recycling awareness project organised by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).
Some female volunteers from KOC's Environmental Waste Management Programme Awareness organised the event for students from the school's Kindergarten and Early Childhood Department in honour of their contribution to protecting the environment from domestic waste.
The programme, which started in September, is currently held in 38 schools across Kuwait. As part of the programme, students were introduced to the concept of recycling, waste management and environmental protection. Ten of the students who took part in the eight-month programme, which was certified for best practice from the Dubai International Award - a group associated with the United Nations - were given prizes for their contribution to the environmental project.
Shafiqa Mubarak, KOC manager and a member of the programme explained that the volunteer organisation tries to enhance the awareness of people towards the environment. "We do this [recycling] in KOC now. We have a KOC project dealing with circulation of disposal things. It is worth it to encourage everybody in the community not only Ahmadi residents and staff to recycle." She explained that this led to a partnership with schools as part of the waste management project.
Janina Al-Soomali, KG 2 teacher with the American Academy for Girls, explained that this was the first time that the school has embarked on a project such as this. She also explained that children recycled in their homes and in the classrooms, everything from paper to plastic bottles. Asked to assess the project, she concluded, "They learnt a lot."
Members of the programme distributed brochures with striking facts about the daily production of waste in Kuwait. According to KOC's data, Kuwait's residents produce 2,500 tons of domestic waste a day, one of the highest figures in the world.
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