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Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
HEALTH clubs in Plumtree have, since their formation in 2011, assisted in keeping the border town’s environment clean.

When President Mnangagwa declared the first Friday of each calendar month, the National Environment Cleaning Day in 2018, the clubs composed of women had long been doing it but the declaration opened the eyes of other people in Plumtree who were wondering why the ladies were “wasting” their time.

The town, the country`s major gateway to Botswana had a terrible littering record, which prompted the women to take it upon themselves to spruce up it up.

With support from the local council and the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) all members went through training in health-related issues. The syllabus included home-based care which has resulted in the members assisting the sick in the community.

The clubs have also come in handy in the fight against Covid-19 as they have assisted the town in raising awareness on the need to comply with regulations.

“We have been doing this since 2011. Everyone who wanted to join had to go through 20 lessons. The lessons were conducted by the Plumtree Council Health Department. The lessons were an eye opener for all the ladies,” said Mrs Khethiwe Ngwenya chairperson of ward 4 in Plumtree town.

Mrs Ngwenya said after learning basic health standards, their households have also benefitted. She said in her ward they meet every Wednesday from 8AM-10AM to clean around town and their residential areas and if there is need, they even increase number of days as their target is to always have a clean environment.

Another member, Mrs Mavis Ngwenya said some community members initially thought that they were getting paid by council for cleaning the environment.

“When we started others thought we were being paid and the majority did not understand why we would ‘waste’ our time cleaning the environment which belongs to everybody. It’s only when the President declared that the first Friday of each month is a clean-up day that our community`s eyes were opened,” said Mrs Ngwenya.

She said the advent of Covid-19 brought the importance of cleanliness to the fore.

Mrs Miriam Mthuthuki said they were all committed to their work and appealed for support.

“We love what we are doing. We only need support with cleaning materials, things like gloves so that we don’t expose ourselves to diseases that we are trying to prevent by having a clean environment,” she said.

“We are able to separate our waste into various categories from our homes and then use some of it to make products that we can sell. We use plastics to make door mats which we sell to the community. We manufacture washing baskets using empty water bottles that we pick.”

However, Mrs Mthuthuki said finding new markets is their main challenge as they are unable to sell all their products in the small border town.

Miss Thobekile Madongo said the clubs also conduct health lessons in their wards to fight diseases.

“Diseases like malaria and diarrhoea can be prevented by actions taken by residents. So, we monitor our local areas to see that members of the community maintain health standards,” she said.

Miss Madongo said lack of gloves was their main challenge in discharging their duties as they are forced to use plastics.

“We are using plastics for covering bread but that is not ideal. This has dampened our spirit as we fear catching diseases. We wish we could get support from well-wishers as we are doing a good service for their community,” she said.

Plumtree town was in bad shape in terms of cleanliness when they started their club, said Mrs Mayoress Kanjangwa, a member since 2011.

She said Plumtree Town Council was very supportive when they started but resource constraints have reduced that support which has resulted in members relying on Ema for assistance with gloves and bin liners.

“This town was very dirty and it was a rallying call for me to join the club.

“At one point we had about 700 members from the town`s six wards but others developed cold feet in the long years we have been doing this while others moved to various towns and cities,’’ said Mrs Kanjangwa.