Manja Pamodzi project targets schools
By KALOBWE BWALYA ZAMBIAN Breweries’ Manja Pamodzi project has pledged to continue leading the education and awareness of waste management, water security and hygiene in schools. Project Manager, Elaine Kafwimbi, said so far, five schools in Lusaka namely Muchinga, Twashuka, Kasamba, New Kanyama and New Matero Secondary benefited from workshops and campaigns dubbed “Think Act Be Smart (TABS). Ms Kafwimbi said the importance of keeping communities clean and improving sanitation had been particularly highlighted during the current cholera outbreak. “We want pupils to know the impact that waste has on the environment, what they can do with recyclable waste and the importance of keeping their environment clean,” explained Ms Kafwimbi. Manja Pamodzi, together with its partners, Lusaka City Council, GIZ, Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company, Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and UNICEF, collaborated in the educational workshops. She noted that waste management, water security and hygiene were an important factor in the well-being of the country’s people because a clean environment played a pivotal role in fighting cholera. “The aim of the trainings is to ensure sustainability of the workshops we have been conducting in schools so that they continue where we left. We are training teachers to execute the work in environmental clubs and where there are no clubs, we’re encouraging the schools to form them. “The LCC will eventually take over and continue with the programme and train other schools in Lusaka,” she said. The Manja Pamodzi initiative is a post-consumer waste clean-up project which is aimed at creating a clean environment and empowering communities. The project established by Zambian Breweries, National Breweries and Heinrich’s Syndicate in 2014 and was launched in August 2015.