By Chloe Mesikano Razemba, Zimbo Green
Zimbo Green was started by a group of people who are sick and tired of the appalling state of our once-beautiful “Sunshine City.” We are a strictly apolitical group of volunteers who just want things to return back to their decent, functional state in Zimbabwe. The “Zimbo” in our name refers to every Zimbabwean who is a concerned and responsible citizen, and the “Green” comes from the environment-friendly approach that we have adopted to this cause. Our objective as concerned citizens is to improve and preserve our surroundings by taking the initiative in reducing waste, reusing resources and recycling whatever we can, in order to leave our Earth a better place than when we found it. We are all about making Green trendy and changing people’s mind-sets concerning waste management. In light of the historic events of November 2017 we realised that Zimbabweans are truly a united people, so why not group up for a common cause that will benefit our communities and environment as a whole? We want to capture that positive vibe that came with the new era and put it to good use as citizens who love their country.
On the 6th of January 2018 we engaged various stakeholders, businesses and citizens alike, in a clean-up campaign of the Harare CBD. This clean-up campaign was not just about a once-off sprucing up of the city centre – it was also an awareness campaign on proper waste management practices, and how ordinary Zimbos can earn a living from recycling by learning how to “separate at source.”
When our volunteers arrived at Fourth Street, they described it as “chaotic”. The toilets had no running water and had been closed. The stench was unbearable with human faeces and urine in used bottles and paper. That area was covered by supportive organisations such as Junior Chamber International Zimbabwe (JCI); Junior Achievers Zimbabwe (JAZ) and several concerned citizens including local singer Albert Nyathi. Zimbo Green’s Mrs Sheila Sakala, who was leading the team at Fourth Street, reported that the clean-up “went very well in terms of how people responded to us. Passers-by joined in and the stall users were even taking our brooms to clean up their areas. Organisations and companies have reached out to us. To make it all sustainable however, we have to vigorously pursue how to effect a change of mindset and how to put in place the infrastructure to enable people to be “Zimbo Green”. There was no water, a nearby bowser stands empty. There are an inadequate number of toilet facilities for the amount of human traffic that passes through this area, the facilities that are available are non-functional.”
She noted how desperate commuters, drivers, and vendors have resorted to using kaylite packaging and empty bottles out of desperation while others relieve themselves on the ground: “a health catastrophe waiting to happen.” Upon interacting with the users of the terminus, people started to open up, venting their anger and frustration about how they have to debase their hygiene standards in order to make a living. In a nearby service lane we found waste from a clinic – used drips and needle paraphernalia. Zimbo Green has since been investigating these horrific and hazardous conditions and we are currently engaging the authorities responsible for seeing to the welfare of the citizens in and around the problem areas. We managed to get a prompt response from City of Harare (COH) and they ensured that water was available at the terminus by Monday the 8th of January. The refuse bins were emptied thereafter and we conducted after-clean-up site visits where we noticed that most of the vendors were trying to keep their surroundings tidy. The stench from the toilets was still hovering, but not as overpowering as before. We are still in the process of engaging EMA and COH in investigating the culprit behind the clinic waste.
Along First Street we teamed up with a dedicated group of Environmental students from the UZ; JCI; our amazing friends from Zimbabwe Sunshine Group, City of Harare cleaners, Maritime Waste Solutions led by environmental expert Mrs Mary Wazara, and many other ordinary citizens. Some were regular teachers who came with their students. One teacher said, “The Bible says ‘catch them young,’ so we are here to show them how to take care of their environment.” It was very inspiring to see a little boy not more than five years old coming to play his part as a responsible citizen. Most of the filth along the Jason Moyo and First Street area was in the form of old posters, wrappers, uncollected garbage of all sorts, and the infamous smell coming from human waste dumped in empty containers. This lack of sanitation services is a ticking time-bomb in our city health system, and we could soon face a cholera outbreak similar to those in Zambia and Malawi.
Our biggest team of about 150 people covered the Market Square rank to Harare Street, and they did a stellar job. This team comprised mostly of the EMA anti-littering monitors from Mbare (predominantly ladies), the EMA crew, members from Let’s Do It World Zim, and Zimbo Green. We had another very active group in the Avenues led by Sharon Hook from Miracle Missions Trust and the amazing ladies from Mabvuku anti-litter monitors. They made strides in educating the public about burning rubbish and about the different ways in which their communities can benefit from recycling initiatives. They were joined by some staff from Capitalk 100.4 FM as well as Avenues Clinic staff. We are ever so grateful for this generous support. Everyone was at their post by 8am and by 1pm we were done, ready for the City of Harare Refuse trucks who came as promised.
As a follow up to the campaign, we revisited the sites that we had cleaned and interacted with citizens. Most of the people working in these areas are very keen on keeping their areas clean, but emphasise that the City of Harare must be consistent with regular refuse collection and water supply, as it is crucial in disease control. When Zimbo Green engaged the Harare City Council, particularly on the issue of toilets in the CBD, Council highlighted how current infrastructure is not sufficient to service the growing population. This is something that we as Zimbo Green are passionate about addressing with the help of these relevant authorities. As for changing mind-sets, this is an ongoing awareness process that we will require every Zimbo to mindfully adopt and actively participate in, for the benefit of our New Zimbabwe.
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