A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE: SOUTH B POLICE BAND CLEANUP

 Located in a 20 acre piece of land, the south B police band serves as housing for more than 500 police men and women with their families. A walk in the compound revealed one serious and common problem of waste management.

I could not help but notice the decomposing hips of garbage thrown away by the residents. The sites have attracted families of the unusual looking ‘undertaker bird’ otherwise known as the marabou stork. The naked head and neck birds are only left to camp at the dumpsites scavenging through the scraps and filth to find something to eat. Parking boys walk through the once protected compound to the dumpsites rummaging through the garbage to find materials that could be sold for recycling. The compound is literary filled with litter either scattered by wind or improperly discarded by residents due to lack of a waste management system.

Some of the volunteers collecting liter

However, with the help of mazingira safi initiative, the south b police post is gradually having a fresh new look thanks to the work that began with a community cleanup on the 22nd February 2014.

Purity Wanjohi (left) and Joy looking happy after the cleanup

The team, partners, and sponsors
Purity Wanjohi, the founder of Mazingira Safi Initiative, assured residents that with the help of volunteers from the local community, they were ready to give the place a new look. A week before the cleanup, Purity alongside other officials from Mazingira Safi Initiative had toured the place to conduct an assessment and meet with the management. The management, represented by Mr. Kipchumba, agreed to support the cleanup process financially. The Nairobi City Council, as usual, provided their garbage track and additional personnel to aid with waste collection. A total of 32 volunteers from the local community were mobilized to participate in the cleanup.

Volunteers clearing one of the dumpsites

It was no easy task digging through the pits to remove the waste. But at the end of it all, one dumpsite was completely eliminated and the litter scattered all over the compound picked and discarded properly. The work is however not complete until all the dumpsites are eliminated and a proper waste management system is put into place to prevent future occurrence of the problem.


Moving forward....
Mazingira Safi Initiative intends to continue increasing awareness of the problem of waste management in Nairobi and other urban centers in Kenya by engaging in actions that initiate change, enhancing dialogue between institutions and people, and by building partnership with national and international organizations. Consequentially, this will help to shape new cultures which will make people to be careful with the environment.