Vivo Energy Uganda in partnership with the Uganda Junior Rangers (UJR), commemorated World Environment Day through a hands-on community environmental activity aimed at ending plastic pollution, the official global theme for this year’s celebrations led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The shoreline of Lake Victoria at Kigungu Beach and Fish Landing site came alive with purpose as colleagues from Vivo Energy Uganda joined hands with the Uganda Junior Rangers, a spirited, youth-led conservation group driven with a passion for protecting nature. Through a combined effort, over fifty volunteers from Vivo Energy and Uganda Junior Rangers rolled up their sleeves for a day of action, cleaning up plastic waste and engaging the lakeside communities on safer use and disposal of plastics.
This year’s theme, “Ending Plastic Pollution,” emphasises the urgent need to address the global plastic pollution crisis facing our environment and communities through systemic change and collective action. Plastic pollution is not only contaminating our water bodies and endangering marine life, but it is also eroding the very ecosystems that sustain livelihoods and health in Uganda.
Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake, is in critical condition due to various threats, notably severe plastic pollution. The lake, supporting an estimated 53 million people as of 2020, also faces challenges from industrial chemical contamination, overfishing, and deforestation.
“At Vivo Energy Uganda, our participation through internal employee initiatives and community projects such as the clean-up exercise today, aligns with our sustainability framework and demonstrates our commitment to reducing environmental impacts across our operations and value chain. Plastics are a major threat to water ecosystems and therefore our efforts help to reduce this impact in the community,” said Valery Okecho, Corporate Communications Manager at Vivo Energy Uganda.
Okecho added: “Sustainability is embedded in how we operate, how we lead, and how we serve. Over the years, our behavioural change campaigns such as “Tuve Ku Kaveera” and “Taasa Obutonde” with corporate and media partners, have addressed this environmental challenge by creating awareness, shifting mindsets, and encouraging behavioural change around plastic usage and disposal.”
Mutumba Faisal, CEO of Uganda Junior Rangers, stated that: “I profoundly thank Vivo Energy Uganda for walking this journey with us as a partnership, through genuine, on-the-ground collaboration. Your willingness to step into this work, shoulder-to-shoulder with us, is not only appreciated, but also respected. Not forgetting your support through the provision of personal protective equipment such as life jackets, reflector jackets, gloves, cleaning tools and your employees’ time to amplify the work we’re already having our hands on. But even more importantly, it sends a message: the fight against plastic pollution is everyone’s fight.”
“To the communities we serve: this is not just a clean-up. This is an invitation. An invitation to see waste differently. To rethink our relationship with plastic. To recognise that every bottle discarded aimlessly and carelessly is a missed opportunity to protect our water, our fish, our livelihoods, and our children’s future,” he added.
In the past, the partnership between Vivo Energy Uganda and Uganda Junior Rangers has involved supporting lakeside and refugee communities by providing free Shell Gas through the “Tubafeeko” campaign. This initiative promotes sustainable cooking practices and environmental conservation by reducing reliance on firewood, charcoal, and other deforestation-driven energy sources. The partnership goes beyond a shared commitment to sustainability. It aims at inspiring the next generations to care for the environment and their country. Vivo Energy Uganda has also pledged to strengthen its focus on environmental protection, community support, and improving lives not only for today, but also for the future.