Did you know the earth has about 3 trillion trees that can be categorized in over 60,000 species?  (Journal of Sustainable Forestry). However, do not let these huge figures sway you to comfort because almost half of the earth’s tree coverage has been depleted.  It is such facts that have found their way into the life of our own Stratizen and Vice President of the Student Council, Jane Mich Awour. She believes she can contribute to a greener and cleaner environment in our country. Echoing Wangari Maathai’s she says, “I will be a hummingbird; I will do the best I can, with the knowledge and skills gained in her area of study.” This includes carrying out various analyses and creating models that diagnose challenges then offering dependable data for greater impactful solutions.

A greener and cleaner impact

To create more awareness and offer tangible workable solutions, Jane, a third year Bachelor of Business Science in Financial Engineering student, initiated the Kenya Safi Organisation. She runs the initiative with the help of other Stratizen ‘hummingbirds’ namely Cynthia Kiiti, a third year Bachelor of Business Science in Actuarial Science student, Georgina Njeru, third year, Bachelor of Laws, student and Maria Gitau, a Bachelor of Science in Informatics and Computer Science student. The quartet is determined to drive solutions that call for action. One of which is to initiate a 2 million tree planting rally in 2021 to echo the words of Wangari Maathai “Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing.” Last year, despite the Covid-19 hurdles, the ladies were able to hold an eight-week webinar series to create awareness on how we can have a greener and cleaner environment for generations to come.

 Opportunity to give back while learning

As she continues to make a greener impact, Jane also serves as the current Vice President of the Student Council at Strathmore University. Here she represents students within the Strathmore community and in the external world. Also, she liaises with the appropriate offices of the University to ensure Stratizens get proper catering, health, and other services. In case you are looking to join a club, she coordinates and facilitates the running of all clubs and their leadership training.  To date, she has been a member of AIESEC, Environmental Club, and the President’s Award Strathmore chapter. Usiachwe Nyuma! Join a club. She can help you with that too and remember “the true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”― Nelson Henderson

This Article was written by Annete Karanja.