BORDA cleans Chazanga township

Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) Zambia in collaboration with the Water and Sanitation Association of Zambia (WASAZA) hosted a cleanup event on Friday, 14 September 2018 for the residents of Chazanga Township in Lusaka to raise awareness for World Cleanup Day, which falls on 15 September each year.

Members of the community, along with people from various sectors such as Health, Education, Marketeers and the Zambia Police, joined in this exercise. The event was marked by speeches, cleaning of various areas, and collection of old waste by the Lusaka City Council with support from BORDA Zambia.

Speaking on behalf of BORDA Zambia and partners, BORDA Zambia Social Programme Developer and Coordinator Ms. Margaret Zulu informed the participants that this event was in line with the organisations’ objective of making neighbourhoods more liveable through strengthening social structures as well as developing and implementing innovative approaches in solid waste management and waste water treatment—all to make a contribution to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She emphasized the need for community members to develop good hygienic practices as a way of preventing diseases such cholera, diarrhoea and other diseases that are caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices.

Speaking at the same event, Mpulungu Ward Councillor Mr. Christopher Shakafuswa commended BORDA Zambia, WASAZA, Lusaka City Council and other partners for considering his ward to host the cleanup event. He said that what these organisations have done is in line with the “Make Zambia Clean, Green and Health Campaign” which was re-launched by His Excellence the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, early this year. He urged the people in his ward to make cleaning of their surroundings coupled with good hygiene practices part of their daily lives. He also reminded the residents of how government spent huge sums of money during the fight against the cholera outbreak that claimed many lives in Lusaka and other districts. Mr. Shakafuswa also reminded the community that these outbreaks such as cholera were preventable, and all that was needed was for the community and other key stakeholders to work together to keep their surroundings clean.

Other organizations that joined BORDA Zambia, WASAZA and Lusaka City Council were the Water and Sanitation for the Poor (WSUP), the Ministry of Local Government, the Lions Club District 413 South, BARAKA, Chainama School of Health Sciences, Lusaka Waster Security Initiative (LUWSI) through Fairy Bottling Company Limited, Let’s do it Zambia Foundation, and the Network for Environmental Concerns and Solutions (NECOS).

About World Cleanup Day

World Cleanup Day harnesses the power of everyday people to achieve incredible things by joining together. Its beauty lies in cooperation and collaboration: building bridges between disparate communities, and including all levels of society - from citizens, to business, to government. The movement was born 10 years ago in Estonia, when 4% of the population came out to clean the entire country of illegally dumped waste, in a matter of hours. This captured the imaginations of people worldwide, who were inspired to follow suit with the same ambitious ‘one country, one day’ formula. This was the beginning of a global bottom-up civic movement, Let's Do It! World, which has spread rapidly around the globe. The movement has grown to be the biggest of its kind in the world - uniting people from all corners of the planet to work together in cleaning the world of trash.