Curtain comes down on 2011 walkathon

embarking on the final lap, which covers a distance of about 30 kilometres from Riverside to the border city of Mutare.
The larger part of the 275-kilometre journey has been covered since Sunday, when the walkers took off from Eastlea Shopping Centre in Harare. But that is not to say what remain to be covered would be a stroll in the park: Remember, the walkers will have to snake through the famous Christmas Pass, which will test their endurance, before arriving to a heroes’ welcome in Zimbabwe’s fourth largest city.
Christmas Pass is a mountain passage that leads into the city. It was so named by some of the colonial pioneers who camped at the foot of the pass on Christmas Day in 1890.
While the view of the city from the pass is spectacular, we doubt it if the walkers are going to enjoy what ordinarily should be food for the eyes given that climbing up the pass by foot is such a gruelling exercise. Descending the pass is yet another torturous exercise that requires men and women who are made of sterner stuff.
Still, the 200 core walkers who embarked on this walkathon remain determined to reach their final destination.
Mutare was founded in 1897 as a fort, about eight kilometres from the border with Mozambique and is just 290km from the Mozambican port of Beira, earning the city the title of “Zimbabwe’s Gateway to the Sea”. It is sometimes also called “Gateway to the Eastern Highlands”. Many Zimbabwean locals refer to it as “Kumakomoyo” (place of many mountains).
Unfortunately, despite its magnificent views Mutare has not been spared by deforestation. It is therefore befitting that the 2011 edition of the walkathon has targeted the people of Mutare.
In all the towns and villages the walkers have passed through, they were challenging the communities to take charge of their environment because their lives are dependent on it.
Issues around the environment have become the most topical in the world today because of the unfolding dangers spawned by global warming, which is threatening to wipe out the human race and the other world inhabitants.
The whole natural life cycle of our environment has been disturbed, causing extreme weather conditions worldwide.
Zimbabwe is currently enduring global warming. It has endured its hottest weather in history last month, which left people wondering whether the world was coming to an end.
Although there are steps being taken to curb these extreme weather conditions at Government, regional and international levels, there is room for individuals to join in these efforts as well in order to heal the world and make it a better place for future generations.
Once everyone has put their shoulder behind the wheel without minding the squeeze, the earth could once again become a beautiful place to live in; its people would become healthier while enormous opportunities would unravel for everyone.
People should not wait for the Government to institute laws so that they can begin to act. Neither should they wait for the Government to put in place committees or bodies to fight global warming. As it is, the Government has done commendably well in fighting global warming despite the obvious budgetary constraints. While a lot more could be done, much more can be achieved if every citizen of this country plays a part in conserving the environment.
As individuals, people can take certain actions to stop global warming without having to look up to the Government. On their part, FOTE took the initiative to raise public awareness on this important issue through the annual walkathons.
The inaugural walkathon saw about 7 000 trees being planted between Gweru and Harare. This time around, FOTE are aiming at about 8 000 trees.
This should be a wake-up call to every citizen of this country, in particular the Manicaland community. Manicaland has been one of the worst victims of deforestation, which has rendered part of its land unproductive.
On their way to Riverside, the walkers witnessed the ill effects of global warming; excessive heat and torrential rain.
Climate change has become so unpredictable, making it doubly difficult for our farmers to plan. The vleis and wetlands that used to support gardening are fast disappearing. Fresh water is becoming scarce due to recurrent droughts and long dry spells.
At this race, animals and plant species face extinction in no time. But all hope is not lost. The power to reverse the trend is in our hands.
We must all elevate ourselves to community leaders by embracing efforts to mitigate global warming. The starting point is to acknowledge that we are causing irreparable damage to the environment through our actions. The effects of the indiscriminate cutting down of trees are there for us to see.
While most of our communities rely on firewood as a source of energy, they need to plant more trees than they are harvesting.
As communities, let us take charge and stand for the values of integrity, responsibility, and respect for the environment. Let us always bear in mind that the environment needs our help, and needs it now.
Let’s all stand up and make a difference to humanity.
We conclude by quoting Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
This was Adam’s job description. As the descendants of Adam, let us borrow a leaf from this job description.
About FOTE
FOTE comprises like-minded organisations from the corporate world, government, non-governmental organisations and individuals – that came together in 2010 to support the idea of reforestation through a non-profit-making Trust Fund. The organisation works with the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe, along with other environmental organisations, with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Management.
l E-mail: environment
@nyaradzo.co.zw; Tel: 04-791372