Context
One of the major challenges of our time is the protection of nature and good environmental management. The footprints of human activities are greatly devastating our ecosystems in a context where the management of our living environments is not yet optimal. Every day, we complain about the notorious insalubrity of our living environment but continue to adopt uncivil behavior by polluting our cities and localities with waste of all kinds. Dreaming of having clean cities like Wellington, Kobe, Vienna, etc., requires an eco-citizen leap of responsibility and regular cleaning of our environment. It is in this logic that our organization is part of by initiating on Saturday 09 November 2019 a monthly civic health activity called Lokossa CleanUp Day, to be held every second Saturday of the month.
Objectives of the activity
- Engage young people in civic activity;
- Educate young people and neighboring populations on good environmental management;
- Make clean our axes and public places.
Implementation of the activity
Two sessions were conducted on November 9 and December 14 between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Lokossa CleanUp Day sessions generally consist of several activities which are:
Eco-jogging: the axes cleaned are in particular the section going from the People's House to the Independence Square, that between the CARDER and the CAEB. The public places cleared of plastic and plant waste are above all the esplanade of the People's House and the Independence Square. The tools used are hoes, brooms, cutter, rakes, protective gloves, trash bags.
Environmental education: this consists of making the community aware of good environmental management practices. The environmental education session on December 14 focused on the types of waste encountered in our environment and their characteristics.
Physical exercises: these are mainly physical exercises to maintain the physical shape and build self-confidence of young people because the education of the spirit requires the building of the body. This is in keeping with this quote from the Tenth Satire of Juvenal, a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Dance: we got into the habit of shaking our bodies a bit on trendy pieces. To this end, we benefited from the support of the No Limit dance group which led the sports relaxation session at the end of the cleansing on 09 November.
The work ends around 10 am in a cheerful atmosphere. We would like to thank all the people who contributed to the success of this project. We are thinking in particular of the students of the various colleges of Lokossa, the members of the youth association of the Adjakomey Hounkpo district and those of the Youth Network for Social Equity (RJLES) who have spared no effort to ensure that the objective is achieved.
Funding and partner
In 2019, the two editions of this activity were fully funded by our organization to the tune of eighteen thousand seven hundred CFA francs (18,700 CFA francs). In addition, this activity was carried out with the authorization of the Town Hall of Lokossa.
Results obtained and quantified impact
- We have succeeded in mobilizing nearly a hundred young people around this eco-citizen activity. These young leaders have thus understood the importance of acting each in what concerns him for the collective good of our communities;
- The young people involved with us in this activity were educated on the nature of waste and its management. The increase in our staff from one session to another shows how much each and everyone values our teachings;
- The independence square of Lokossa, the esplanade of the People's House, and several axes of the city of Lokossa have been made clean by our care. Many local residents followed suit during our various sessions, illustrating very well the impact of our action on the mentality of the population.
Difficulties encountered and solution approaches
We had no major difficulties in carrying out the two sessions for 2019. However, in 2020 we would like to acquire a significant number of ecological bins and awareness panels to better help change behavior in our communities. to the perception of waste and its management.
