Environmental care is often about more than protecting trees, rivers, and landscapes. It is also about caring for the places that connect communities to their history, identity, and future. In Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province, our partner, Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA), continues to demonstrate how young people can turn this understanding into meaningful community action.
On 7 August, MAYA joined government officials, local authorities, schools, community organizations, private-sector partners, and other members of the community for a National Clean-Up campaign at the Manicaland Provincial Heroes Acre. Together, they worked to restore the cleanliness and dignity of a place of deep national importance.
For MAYA, the activity was about much more than collecting litter.
The Heroes Acre is a place of remembrance, honoring people who contributed to Zimbabwe’s history. By helping to care for this important space, the young people involved connected environmental responsibility with respect for the generations who came before them.
As MAYA shared, the initiative was an opportunity to build “a culture of responsibility, respect, and environmental stewardship.” It is a powerful reminder that environmental action can also be an expression of community pride.
As our global community may recall, MAYA has been a long-standing partner of the Global Tree Initiative, and its work reflects many of the values that inspire our tree-planting community around the world.
Our global community may also recall Jussa Kudherezera, a long-time tree planter and volunteer Regional Coordinator for the Global Tree Initiative in Zimbabwe. Over the years, Jussa and his community have planted thousands of trees while supporting a wide range of community projects focused on empowering young people.
Their environmental work demonstrates that creating a greener future is not only about planting trees. It is also about nurturing the people and communities who will care for those trees and the environment around them for generations to come.
MAYA’s participation in the National Clean-Up campaign is another example of this approach. By bringing young people into practical environmental action, MAYA helps transform environmental stewardship from an abstract idea into something people can experience and practice together.
Clean-up campaigns may seem simple, but their impact can reach far beyond the removal of waste. Clean public spaces can strengthen community pride, encourage people to take greater responsibility for their surroundings, and create opportunities for different groups to work toward a shared goal.
At the Manicaland Provincial Heroes Acre, this shared purpose brought together people from different parts of society – as seen in the photos. Young people stood alongside government representatives, schools, community groups, local authorities, and private organizations.
We are so happy to celebrate the work of Jussa Kudherezera, Manica Youth Assembly, and the many young people who continue to dedicate their time and energy to their communities. Thank you so much for inspiring us again, Jussa! We appreciate all the work that you and MAYAA do to make a change for the better.
We invite our global community to like and follow MAYA’s Facebook page, and if you want to contact Jussa to support his projects, you can send him an email jussa@plantgrowsave.org
_____
References and images:
0 Comments