By Michael Opiyo
St. Monica Catholic Church has become the first church in Kajiado County to set sights on waste management and partner with Taka ni Mali initiative in collaboration with the County Government of Kajiado to help address waste woes.
The church took the initiative after it was recognized as the pioneer in clean-up of Kitengela Town to control outbreak of diseases such as cholera arising from the disposal of waste in the wrong places.
The partnership with church comes as a way of creating awareness about waste management in Kitengela Town and across the County said Partron of Taka ni Mali, Mary Ngechu who is spearheading the project. It is a pilot partnership project in waste management involving Kitengela dumping site.
“Taka ni Mali have partnered with St. Monica Catholic Church in Kajiado County so that we are able to create awareness and train people stop dumping waste anywhere but to understand waste management that will also be source of income,” noted Ngechu.
She was speaking during the launch of partnership with St. Monica Catholic Church recently. The church and county government have formed County Waste Management Entrepreneurship Hub that has created opportunities among the youths and women groups in the society.
At the same time, the initiative has also introduced a digital platform of collecting waste from the homestead. They will be getting bonga points and cash back for the people to value waste management.
“We have introduced a mobile App known as Taka ni Mali App, so that a homestead can be able to call for waste collection and so far in Kajiado County we have a team of over 450 people we are working with in 15 different groups of youths and women,” Ngechu explained. The Taka ni Mali patron who was accompanied by Kajiado County First Lady Ednah Lenku, the ambassador of Environment and Taka ni Mali initiative in the County noted: “You can be able to call the team across the County using the Mobile App, a smartphone or sms for those who don’t have a smartphone for the team to come and collect recyclable waste. We are able to convert the recyclable waste as reuseable raw materials and take them back to the industries,”
The First Lady urged Kajiado County residents to take the initiative positively saying it will eradicate waste and also empower youths and women.
“Remember it’s our responsibility to ensure our environment is always clean that begins at the homestead.This is the best way to take care for this world for me, you and furture generations,” said Ednah.
Simone Anderson, Chief Commercial Officer said
Wee Centre, is one of the partners with a mission to secure green and safe environment to the provision of safe waste management. “They will be collecting electric wasteto recycle it and make it reuseable” he added.
Fr. Rev. Felix Omokaya of St. Monica Catholic Church in his sermon, applauded the initiative saying that people can protect their health through ensuring clean environment in which each and everyone is responsible for waste management.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other organisations are among the partners to ensure the success of waste management in Kajiado County.
Currently, the initiative have so far installed waste recycling Hub at Kitengela dumping site.