YASCON ENGAGES LOCAL LEADERS IN SALIMA DISTRICT

In a significant move to achieve a bottom up approach in environmental conservation, Youth Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (YASCON) successfully held a community engagement meeting with Sub Traditional Authority Kanzimbe of Salima alongside leadership from the Area Development Committee (ADC) and Village Development Committee (VDC), aimed at strengthening environmental conservation at grassroot levels.

The meeting, led by our Conservation Coordinator Joseph Batizani also served as a youth mobilisation drive, pleading with the local leadership to help mobilise young people to join the movement.

Sub T/A Kanzimbe strongly endorsed Yascon in the area thereby calling upon all his subjects in general and youths in particular to join hands in reinforcing activities that are meant to fight nature and environmental degradation.

The chief stressed the need for young people to be environmental watchdogs, acknowledging that much of environmentally unfriendly activities are widespread among the youth.

As a positive response to the chief's call, 50 young people from Kachere and Mtomdo youth clubs under Group Village Head (GVH) Mayambo were registered as members of a youth conservation club after expressing their commitment and passion to the course, a development that is expected to strengthen YASCON's presence and activities in the area.

Such local engagements are in consistent with YASCON's core philosophy that long-term nature and environmental sustainability can only be achieved when local structures and younger generations actively lead the narrative.