United Nations Radio

"Green Wedding" by Simon Ndegwa Maina: First Place for Single Photo Amateur

INTRO: A photo contest on caring for the environment sponsored by the UN Development Programme focused specifically on professional and amateur photographers living in Africa. Gerry Adams profiles three of the winners:

Narrator: Across the continent of Africa, thousands of individuals are doing their part to care for the environment and slow climate change. Faiza Hajji Wozniak, is one of them. She has launched a fair trade project that is decreasing the number of plastic bags in the environment, while at the same time helping Moroccan women receive a fair income:

Faiza: The project is basically helping women by giving them a regular income through selling different products made out of recycled plastic bags that we collect from the environment commonly found in Morocco.

Narrator: IFASSEN, which means 'hands' in Berber, is the name of the project, which employs 21 craftswomen. Now, a picture of IFASSEN, called "Caring Hands" has won first place in the Photo Essay category of the United Nations Development Programme's photo contest called "Picture This: Caring for the Earth":

Faiza: I hope that this award will inspire people in my country to care about their environment and to preserve it.

Narrator: The First Place Single Photo, Amateur winner is Simon Maina, who says "Any occasion can be turned into a conservation time." Simon, a youth pastor who works closely with young people, took his winning photo at his brother's wedding in Lake Nakuru National Park, a rare and vital wildlife corridor for animals:

Simon 1,2: And I thought that was a good photo for an environmental contest because they were planting a tree in a national park.

Narator: In fact, the couple bought 20 trees that they and their wedding guests and attendants could plant after the ceremony. The winning photo is called "Green Wedding." The First Place winner in the Single Photo Professional category was Jacob Otieno, Photo Editor of the Standard newspaper of Nairobi, Kenya. Jacob has had an interest in photography since he was eight and was named Kenya's Photographer of the Year in 2002. The winning photo is called "Kenya Earth Day":

Jacob 1: This is a picture of a certain woman who was scooping soil by bare hands and in the background there were some other women who are equally planting trees on the same level.

Narrator: Jacob's winning photograph shows a major replanting effort in the Ngong Hills, southwest of Nairobi. Over 1,000 trees were planted in the area, with the ultimate goal being to once again create a forest sanctuary for wildlife. "Picture This: Caring for the Earth" shows what ordinary citizens of Africa are doing to tackle climate change.

Producer: Gerry Adams
Duration: 2'43"