Writes Marlvin Ngiza
In response to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s declaration for a Clean-Up Campaign every first Friday of every month, youth affiliated with Teen Rescue Mission (TRM) in partnership with the Chitungwiza Municipality yesterday participated in the noble cause.
The clean-up exercise covered areas which include St Mary’s Police to Unit O main Chitungwiza Road. The campaign was used to educate young people about the spirit of patriotism and the roles that youth are entitled to in their communities. The event comes ahead of the International Youth Day and the Heroes Day holidays.
The Mayor of Chitungwiza, Her Worship Rosaria Mangoma, commended Teen Rescue Mission’s involvement in the National Clean-Up Day saying “I am so excited to see young people participating in this National Clean-Up Day. It is not just the responsibility of council workers to clean our town but everyone’s responsibility. I want to tell the youth present today that they have set a good example by cleaning their town. This is your town and you should be proud of it as you continue to ensure its cleanliness. When you do good, you have done it for yourself, you have made me proud my children,” she said.
Speaking to the members of the media, Teen Rescue Mission spokesperson, Major Chirombe, applauded the youth for heeding the call to clean the city. Chirombe emphasised the critical role young people play in maintaining a clean environment in pursuit of achieving the vision 2030 of an upper-middle-income society.
“As we prepare to celebrate International Youth Day on August 12th. TRM felt it was essential for our youth to understand the importance of cleanliness. Today’s turnout shows that we love our nation, our city of Chitungwiza, and our environment. We were inspired and challenged today as we picked up litter and swept Chitungwiza, led by Her Worship the Mayor of Chitungwiza.
“As TRM youth advocates against drug and substance abuse, early pregnancy, and crime among teenagers, we believe that preserving our environment is crucial for our future. We appreciate our President for declaring this National Clean-Up Day, which helps keep our cities and the entire nation clean and we also urge our youth to stay clean from drugs and crime,” said Chirombe.
Some of the youth who participated in the exercise expressed their greatest commitment to embracing both local and national initiatives that are meant to develop communities and livelihoods.
Patience Bukuta, a youth from TRM said “Today I learned a lot as a girl child. I used to be indifferent to environmental issues but my participation in this clean-up has opened my eyes to realise the importance of our participation as the youth in keeping our town clean.” she said.
Andrew Mudonhi praised the organization for raising awareness about the importance of a clean environment saying “As a youth in Chitungwiza, I thought it was the council’s responsibility to pick up litter but today l learned that it is everyone’s responsibility and I also want to thank our President for initiating this day,” he said.
The clean-up campaign was also joined by the UZ Criminology Students Association, Population Solutions, Chitungwiza Business Association, Chitungwiza Health Department and the surrounding schools.
The National Clean-Up Day has become a norm every first Friday of every month with the mandate of maintaining clean cities towards tourism attraction and creating enabling environments for business operations among others.