An eco-friendly group in Dubai travelled to the world’s largest tropical rainforest to meet indigenous tribes and educate them on preserving the greenery around them and keep mother nature healthy in order to have a sustainable earth for a better future for the younger generations.

The Green Hope organization consisted of 6 members, four of whom were from the UAE. They took their well-tailored message of a green planet all the way to the Amazon rainforest this month.

There are in total, more than hundreds of members that consist of the Green Hope Group that is located all around the nation. The organization had been started out by a Dubai based student many years ago and now its members are worldwide. The group was founded by Kehkashan Basu.

“The Green Hope team travelled into the Amazon rainforest and engaged with children of the local tribes, educating them about the importance of not taking their forests for granted and to adopt simple sustainable concepts of recycling, waste reduction, tree planting and avoiding plastic usage,” Basu said.

“We spoke to them about environmental conservation, how they can protect the planet by taking small steps in their own community. We also stressed on the harmful effects of plastic and why they should say no to plastic,” she said.

“After the presentation, we gave them white T-shirts and asked them to express their solutions to these environmental challenges through art. Plastic pollution is a huge challenge worldwide and Suriname is no exception. The youth need more awareness. We also planted trees with them – Moringa and Neem trees.”

Further she mentions, “You can’t imagine how green the country is. The tribes didn’t have much knowledge about the harmful effects of plastic, but they do keep their surroundings clean. Our presentation actually helped them to come up with simple solutions. The children enjoyed the art workshop and the tree planting. Their simplicity and the urge to do something for the planet really touched our hearts.”

Basu also mentions the main objective of the green trip. She says, “The objective was to spread awareness about Suriname’s unique position as the only country in the world with 93 per cent forest cover and the important role of the country’s children and youth in taking care of their environment for future generations.”

Adding further, “Climate change is the harshest reality of our times and it is regrettable that some people still shrug it off as a myth. On the other hand, this visit to Suriname was an eye-opener on how a small nation was combining economic progress with natural conservation efforts to protect its forest cover.

Green Hope was indeed privileged that they were chosen as ambassadors to engage the local youth in conveying the importance of protecting their rich biodiversity for generations to come.”

Concluding finally, “Green Hope will now work to share Suriname’s conservation efforts globally and urge other nations to pledge to increase their forest cover.”

Basu and her team had spent 12 days in the Amazon rainforest that spreads their eco-friendly message.