For a while, I have tried to keep up with trends in international trade, and my musings is that Internet and digital wave have impacted businesses and lives. Around 2003, SARS virus belabored China and businesses were forced to adjacent. For example, Alibaba almost closed as its workforce were deposited into quarantine and the question as to whether the start-up would pull through came into play. Closure of the business would have capitulated to diminution of the enterprise. What next?

Globally, countries are experiencing unprecedented cases of viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Covid-19, dengue fever, and Chikungunya. These viruses have affected socio-economic and political spheres of lives resulting in a massive loss of jobs, deaths, and decline in international trade and development.

An effective response to these viruses would possibly be a breakthrough in achieving sustainable development goals, Africa Union Agenda 2063, and Kenyan vision 2030 mild-term strategic plan. So far, progress has been made in research, policy, and programs to promote health, help prevent, treat and care for people, plants, and animals. Perfect examples include equipment, vaccines, clinical trials, funding, and awareness creation. This has brought about a notable decline in the spread of viruses and the longevity of lives.

Why Plant in Kenya and Homabay?

First, Kenya is one of the least-forested countries in Africa, with only 7% tree cover. For Homabay, the forest cover still stands at 2.6%, low than Turkana (7%) and national target of 10%. Forest loss has led to reduced biodiversity, droughts, flash floods, crop failures, and more. All of these are exacerbated by climate change due dangerous human activities.

Second, trees provide life, food and general shelter to humans and animals. Not planting and general cutting forest trees makes us both vulnerable, risky and socioeconomically malnourished.

Although there are some forest management systems and forests in place, a lot still needs to be done in terms promotion, protection, conservation and restoration. As a result, we have embarked on a project dubbed “School Enterprise Led Facility (SELF). The main goal of the project is to green our school through an income-generating enterprise for enhanced management.

We works with community partners across Homabay to plant trees and restore degraded lands. What’s more, we aim to increase tree cover in schools, churches and communities across the Homabay County in a way that is useful to local communities, giving them the means to improve their lives and prosper.