World Water Day 2014

March 22 is WORLD WATER DAY. If you follow this blog, you know that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues are very important to me. Usually I'd spend WWD at the Face Africa Gala in NYC but now that I am in Zimbabwe, I did something different and a bit more special. The theme this year was water and energy. The Miss Earth Zimbabwe Organization put together a commemoration for high school students from schools across Bulawayo. It was very nice to engage with your Zimbabweans and learn a bit more about the water issues in our own area.

On a cloudy Saturday morning, volunteers led students and teachers on a walk from CBC to the Hillside Dams. The students sat in the ampitheater and after a welcome address from Miss Earth Zim Director, Thandekile Muringa, the first presentation started. 

Mr. Cedric Masuku, a water engineer, from the City of Bulawayo gave a presentation, which featured the ways in which water and energy are linked in Zimbabwe. In addition to everyday household usage, we water in food production processes (irrigation etc.), for hydroelectric power generation and in coolers at thermal plants.  Mr. Masuku highlighted the water challenges faced by the Matebeleland region - the climate (drought stricken area) and development (population growth) related issues that have affected the region's water supply. He stressed the need for communities to start thinking of water as a finite resource and start using it efficiently. "Efficient usage should start at the highest level, from industrial to your sink at home," said Masuku, "the City is only going to grow bigger and resources will be stretched." Mr. Masuku also reminded students that the only "free" water is rain water, in many ways we are at the mercy of rains. We must manage what we have and utilise it more effectively. In addition to that, it costs money to treat water and then provide it in good quality and adequate quantities. (Pay your water bills!) All in all, it was an impressive and informative presentation. 

Mr. Masuku's presentation was followed by a Q &A session and a student speech by a member of the Edmund Rice society at Christian Brothers College. Students enthusiastically answered questions in hopes of winning recycling bags, as prizes. Ms. Muringa led students in a discussion on the importance of recycling before distributing recycling bags and splitting everyone into groups for the cleanup. 

My group of students

Each group received a number of recycling bags, gloves and pitchforks (provided by Bulawayo City Council) before setting out to clean the area. Different students were in charge of collecting different things - glass, plastic, paper etc.  To be honest, the Hillside Dams area is kept very clean but we did manage to make it even cleaner! At the end of the cleanup, we all met in the amphitheatre to sort all the bags and then ended the program. 

It was a morning well-spent!