Top Tweets for #Matot

Students’ Summer Work Program in Eritrea ERITREA — The annual Students’ Summer Work Program, locally known as Matot [ማዕቶት], officially launched on July 8 and will continue through August 16. Now in its 31st year, the initiative continues to engage tens of thousands of high school students nationwide in environmental conservation efforts. First introduced in 1994, the program was developed as a national response to widespread deforestation and land degradation. Over the years, student volunteers have played a key role in reforestation, soil and water conservation, terracing, and the planting of hundreds of thousands of trees each summer. #Eritrea's forest cover, which once accounted for about 30% of the country's total land area, has dramatically decreased to less than 1% (FAO, 1997). In 2003, i.e. a decade after such program’s launch and through various national greening campaigns, forest coverage had rebounded to around 15% (FAO, 2005). Considering this trend, it's reasonable to expect that by 2025, i.e. 22 years later, forest coverage could approach or even surpass the original 30%. This is a testament that Students’ Summer Work Program is Eritrea's other success story. FYI - All program expenses, including food, accommodation, and a stipend, are covered by the government. The stipend is intended to support students with school-related expenses for the upcoming academic year. For many Eritrean youths, Matot [ማዕቶት] has become more than just a summer initiative; it’s a rite of passage and a chance to contribute meaningfully to their country's ecological restoration.