About 50 young people, including both members and non-members of URI, helped clean and remove waste throughout the township during the event. In addition, the participants – who included the representatives of many religions – went door to door throughout the township, helping members of the community understand the importance of sanitation.
Members of the community “were asked not to throw waste everywhere, but instead to dig rubbish pits, to avoid diseases like cholera,” said Pastor Alex Business Banda, chairman of the Blantyre Cooperation Circle. “And they were sensitized to the dangers of throwing plastics, which are not good for the environment, along the roads and rivers.”
Blantyre CC members also dedicated themselves to cleaning up roads, river banks and other areas throughout Bangwe – a large township just outside of Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial capital -- that have become a dumping ground for waste.
Members of the community have welcomed the project, saying it will help them prevent the spread of disease. The Rev. John Ng’oma, vice chairman of the Blantyre CC, said the project will help reduce cases of cholera and malaria in the area. Those diseases have previously been prevalent, Father John said, because the community has not maintained proper sanitation.
The cleanup project took place thanks to a seed grant from URI’s Environmental Satellite Cooperation Circle. The CC awarded three grants for environmental projects in Malawi on Sept. 21, 2012, the International Day of Peace.
