The Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa’s Diocese of Harare held a major clean-up campaign at the end of last month, which saw many youth from the church and corporate partners cleaning up the city.

The campaign was aimed at raising awareness on good waste management practices among Harare residents, running under the theme Clean It Up Zimbabwe. It attracted more than 500 participants mostly from the Anglican Church, including both the young and old.

The Clean It Up Zimbabwe campaign was organised by the Anglican Youth Association of Harare in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, City of Harare, Environment Africa, EMA, Miracle Missions and the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe. The campaign team cleaned Copacabana and Market Square ranks before proceeding to Avondale shops where the guest of honour, the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Saviour Kasukuwere, addressed them. Other high profile officials, including the Mayor of Harare His Worship, Bernard Manyenyeni, Amos Midzi and the head of the Anglican Church, Bishop Chad Gandiya, as well as other dignitaries, accompanied the minister.

In his address, Minister Kasukuwere said that he was in full support of the church’s initiative and called for collective action towards waste management.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the waste management challenge we are facing today calls for multi-stakeholder participation and attitude change. As individuals, churches, companies and institutions, let us not discard, dump or leave litter at undesignated places as this creates breeding places for vectors such as flies, mosquitoes and rodents such as rats,” said Minister Kasukuwere.

His Worship, the Mayor of Harare Bernard Manyenyeni thanked the church for taking the initiative in cleaning up the city but appealed to businesses to play a part in maintaining a clean environment.

“We have businesses operating in the CBD, these should lead by example and play a part in ensuring that their business premises are clean,” he said.

In his address, the leader of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa, Bishop Gandiya praised Environment Africa for introducing the first clean-up campaign in 1993 and said that his church will fully support the Clean It Up Zimbabwe initiative by creating a “green church movement.”

“The Keep It Clean localised campaigns will be organised by our young people in all our parishes both urban and rural. We want everyone to take action for a green, clean environment,” said Bishop Gandiya.

All participants were also encouraged to adopt the concept of reducing, re-using and recycling of waste. Environment Africa also handed over 32,000 packs of 10 colour coded bin liners to Minister Kasukuwere.

These recycled bin liners were manufactured by Mary Wazara’s company Plastics Incorporated. Wazara said she was happy with the church’s involvement: “I am excited that the church has risen to take custody of the environment as this will make the job easier for all of us.”

One of the participants, Brighton Manhanhanha (19), said that he was hoping that the campaign would also clean-up people’s mindsets. “We hope that this program will clean-up the mindsets of people so that they desire a cleaner environment. As you know cleanliness is next to Godliness,” said Manhanhanha.

Green Ambassador Dereck Mpofu, performed his song titled Marara (waste) at the event, in which he urged people not to throw litter away but try to utilise it through other ways such as recycling. Participants were also treated to some live gospel music performances by popular artists such as Mathias Mhere, Kudzi Nyakudya, Baba Manyeruke, Vabati VaJehova and many others.