This was part of the Harare Residents Trust’s 2012 Alternative Social Mobilisation programme, where the organisation seeks to build communities’ responsibility towards their surroundings through mutually beneficial actions like clean ups, choral competitions, community soccer and netball.
Clean ups were officially launched in March in the Central Business District with over 200 residents participating, backed by various NGOs, the Department of Waste Management and City Health.
Dumpsites continue to haunt the south western high density suburb but the cleaning activity was welcomed by residents, who said the Council was finding it difficult to meet demand due to various reasons, among them lack of equipment and resources.
Chairperson of HRT’s Glen Norah B Residents’ Committee, Juliet Masiyambiri, said members of the community had resolved to remove the garbage from their suburb, especially outside school and church yards, as well as street corners and open spaces.
“The memories of deceased relatives and neighbours are still fresh in our hearts and minds following the cholera outbreak three years ago and the dumpsites in our areas are a real threat to us. We as residents with the facilitation and assistance from HRT have managed to carry out this clean-up exercise. We requested the Department of Waste Management to help us to clear the rubbish sites so that we have a clean and safe environment,” she said.
One of the senior citizens who participated in the clean-up, Gretor Mangena, who lives close to Ruvheneko Primary School, said while the Harare City Council has failed to regularly collect garbage from their area, irresponsible residents have also contributed to the worsening environmental situation by reckless refuse dumping.
“Refuse collection is sporadic in Glen Norah hence the emergence of dump sites all over. However as residents, on the background of water shortages, we have opted for disposable nappies which we dump outside schools where we send our grandchildren stirring another catastrophe, so we need to manage our own environment through these initiatives,” she said. – info@hrt.org.zw
Post published in: News