THIRTY Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO) clubs were established recently in Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Executive Director Royston King stated in a recent press release.

The intention is to raise awareness on environmental and community health issues within the region, while at the same time providing information on personal hygiene to the students attending schools in the region.
The clubs will also provide a forum for students, parents and teachers, and will foster an environment for working together to protect and preserve the health of the environment and the local communities.
They will also encourage students, teachers and parents to take responsibility for the physical state of their general surroundings.
According to King, PAHO/WHO, the Ministry of Education, Bounty Farm and Western Union provided critical interventions in the Region 7 venture.
Different regions would have specific health, community and environmental needs, and in Region 7, ECHO is focusing on environmental health.
A number of activities were identified in the schools to facilitate greater interaction between the students and the natural environment, including an environmental audit of schoolyards, developing logs to identify plants, birds, and insects, activities that would highlight the effects of climate change and global warming and energy conservation.
According to the release, a number of recommendations were made, including setting up an ECHO office in the region; the provision of refuse receptacles for residents in those local communities; holding of face-to-face community meetings; promoting environmental awareness and education; and establishing community development groups in the region.