Over 80 volunteers took part in the cleanup of Greencroft shopping centre in Harare West at the end of last month. The cleanup was organised by Miracle Missions in partnership with Harare City Municipality and saw people from different walks of life taking part including security officers, vendors, shop workers and environmentalists.

The corporate world also chipped in providing various resources including labour. Swift Transport provided waste collection vehicles while the local Spar and OK supermarkets donated refreshment and their staff got involved in the cleanup activities.

Six VS Security staff members also got stuck in upon noticing the cleanup campaign.

The work mainly involved picking up litter, sweeping the car park, unblocking drains, removing posters from trees and lamp posts, clearing dumps and abandoned empty can collection cages.

Volunteers collected over 500 bags of litter. A City of Harare garbage truck collected the bags and a Swift truck also took a full load to Pomona landfill with the help of four teenagers from St Joseph’s.

To avoid future littering, Autoworld Zimbabwe donated vehicle litter bins that were distributed to motorists, commuters and taxis.

Miracle Missions offered bins for sale to be branded and placed in public places. The organisation also encouraged the practice of recycling at source. They appealed to Greencroft residents to support the recycle centres in the city by taking their waste there and also to join the Zimbabwe Recycling Association.

Outgoing Member of Parliament for Harare West Jessie Majome expressed her gratitude to volunteers for making a difference in their community. She also stressed the need to find solutions to maintain a clean environment.

Participating organisations included the City Of Harare, Swift Transport, VS Security, Spar, OK Zimbabwe, Autoworld, German Embassy, Clean and Green, John Hook and Son, Sheq Ambassadors, Spinview, Crazy For You and the Can Man.