PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - While most nine-year-olds dream of the latest Lego set or remote-controlled car for their birthday, Romario Valentine just wants to help save the planet.
The young eco-warrior from Umhlanga in Durban has been waiving birthday presents for four years now to do his part for the environment, and this year is no different.
The Grade 4 learner is currently raising money to help a bird sanctuary in Plettenberg Bay for his 10th birthday on 26 July.
The sanctuary announced earlier this year that, in order to solve the growing demand for care of unwanted pet African Grey parrots, it would create large free-flight aviaries at the sanctuary in the Crags.
According to Romario's mother, Delsha Moodley, her son's drive to protect the planet started at the age of six, when he researched orcas as part of a school play and realised the impact humans have on the species.
Last year the youngster helped the Umgeni River Bird Park - home to 900 endangered birds - in his hometown. "His visits from a young age allowed him to see amazing birds from all over the world and research on them," Moodley explains. When Romario featured in National Geographic Kids last year, he noticed an article on how intelligent African Grey parrots are. "Again he did his research to find out the correct facts and unfortunately the disappointment he felt when he discovered they are critically endangered and almost extinct in the wild, was overwhelming," says his mother.
Romario wanted to help a bird sanctuary in Africa and, based on their plans to help African Greys, decided on Birds of Eden outside Plettenberg Bay. He will use the money he raises to help complete the aviary for these birds.
Impressive CV
While he is still very young Romario has quite an extensive CV when it comes to helping the environment. He has been an active environmentalist for the past four years and is Ocean Sole's youngest ambassador. Ocean Sole is a Kenyan environmental organisation that recycles discarded flip-flops, turning them into art pieces in a drive to promote marine conservation. Every weekend, without fail, Romario can be found on the beach, cleaning up rubbish. Moodley says her son had cleaned the beach more than 150 times.
He also started a self-funded tree planting campaign in August 2020. To date he has sponsored 26 trees on four continents and is currently working with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to help combat land degradation in the Sahel and Sahara region in Africa.
Heroes
"My parents are my heroes," the youngster says. "They support me in everything and teach me about the environment. I also admire former presidents Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela and Dr Wangari Maathai. Dr Wangari cared for the planet, children and women. She planted over 50 million trees with her organisation Green Belt Movement. I believe it is my mission to protect the environment and biodiversity for future generations."
He would like to see an international children's tree planting day established. "My goal is to see world leaders and tree [planting] organisations team up with schools and communities to plant trees together. I want to see children planting millions of trees on one day of the year, 10 years from now. This would help us slow down global warming and restore bird habitats."
Romario urges children everywhere to realise that they are never too young to help nature. "I would encourage children to plant trees, do not litter, recycle, reuse and only buy things you need." Romario's parents have helped him set up a crowd funding campaign to make his 10th birthday dream come true. To help him reach his goal of raising R20 000, donations can be made through https://www.backabuddy.co.za/romario-valentine-10th-birthday.
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