Leadership, Experience, and Opportunities (LEOs) clubs attached to the Lions Club of Hoima Albertine have been urged to adopt tree planting projects as a key mandate, in addition to their other responsibilities.
LEOs have kicked off their long-term journeys of serving communities under Lions Club International.
The call was made by members of the Lions Club Hoima Albertine during the official launch of a LEO Club at Bwikya Muslim Secondary School in Hoima City on July 17.
Speaking during the launch, Ediga Kasigwa, the Hoima Albertine Regional Governor who represented the club president, John Paddy Kiganu, said environmental conservation is one of the key mandates of the club, ensuring more trees are planted to promote conducive climatic conditions.
It is against this background that they have prioritised tree planting as a main activity among other core objectives.
Lion Banabas Tugume, service chairperson of Lions Club Hoima Albertine, said they have intended to join the LEOs into Lions Club International to groom them in leadership for better experience, and to tap into greater opportunities in the future.
Speaking on environmental protection, Tugume said they realised that plant cover has been torn apart as a result of human activities, including lumbering and charcoal burning, which have caused harsh climatic conditions.
Human activities on natural resources, he said, ensured they bring on young champions to lead in the restoration of the ecosystem by advocating for tree planting.
The club has been launched with 42 members, out of which 10 took the leadership structures.
According to Uganda’s latest deforestation report of 2024 on the National State of the Environment by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) and NEMA, forest cover has decreased from 24% in 1990 to roughly 12-13% today.
Over 90% of current forest loss is driven by smallholder agricultural expansion and unsustainable fuelwood or charcoal harvesting.
It also indicates the country continues to lose over 122,000 hectares of forest land annually due to deforestation and degradation.
Tonney Oketi, a Lions Club member from Arua, called on the young people to join the association, noting that the association brings togetherness and provides extended knowledge.
Hajji Mbuga Abdallah, the school headteacher who is also a member of Lions Club Hoima Albertine, applauded the club for choosing to shape the youths.
He noted that it will help nurture young LEOs for future opportunities by impacting their leadership skills, businesses, health promotion and environmental conservation.
According to him, students have already been able to adopt different changes as portrayed by discipline, as they were still in preparation to join.
Peterson Angello, the president of the newly confirmed LEOs, appreciated the club for choosing to nurture and prepare the young for a better future.
“We remain committed to promoting the club’s ideology by serving communities with purpose,” he said.
Meanwhile, the launch featured a couple of activities, including tree planting as a mainstream activity, but also a free medical camp where students were offered free medical services, including HIV and diabetes testing, cancer diagnosis and also blood donation.
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