Chronicle Editor
Flora Fadzai Sibanda
THE Rotary Clubs of Bulawayo in partnership with the Environment Management Agency (EMA) on Saturday teamed up and conducted a joint clean-up and awareness campaign in the city to mark Earth Day.
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The day is also a celebration to honour the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations.
The clean-up campaign was conducted along Samuel Parirenyatwa from First Avenue to the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) exhibition centre during which EMA took to an opportunity to educate residents about the importance of keeping the earth clean.
After the clean-up, Rotary Clubs and EMA representatives planted trees at the ZITF exhibition centre as part of efforts to increase the ecosystem in the country.
Among the participants were volunteers, Bulawayo Rotary Clubs members, members of the junior council, and the reigning Miss Teen Ecotourism.
Speaking during the event, the president of the Bulawayo Rotary Club, Mr Jacob Nyathi said there is need to keep the earth clean and protect it for future generations.
“The main event today is about awareness and education. We expect it to be sustainable so that people will have the knowledge to keep the earth clean. We are trying to catch young people so that they understand how important it is to keep Bulawayo clean,” he said.
EMA environmental quality officer for Bulawayo Mr Fredrick Maponga said they joined the Bulawayo Rotary Clubs in the campaign as part of efforts to keep the city clean.
“It is our responsibility as citizens to always keep the city clean because if not it will not survive for the future generations. Citizens should also be wary of littering and polluting the earth because there are a lot of diseases such as cholera which the country is currently facing,” he said.
Miss Teen Ecotourism World queen Amanda Moyo said the clean-up campaign is a great initiative, which helps preserve mother earth.
“It is quite notable that a number of people are now partnering in ensuring the environment is clean. At the moment, l am spearheading the tree planting project which l am currently doing at schools as a way of increasing the ecosystem and ensuring that the earth does not lose all the vegetation,” she said.–@flora_sibanda
Online Reporter