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Art Malawi Moves to Clean Mudi River

The Mudi River Clean-up project which started on 8 August, 2021 is running for 70 days and is aimed at restoring the Mudi River to its beautiful state The Mudi River Clean-up project which started on 8 August, 2021 is running for 70 days and is aimed at restoring the Mudi River to its beautiful state -pic by Andrew Maneya

An arts organization, Art Malawi is conducting a clean-up in Mudi River which is aimed at reinstating the river to its original state by removing solid wastes.

Art Malawi Mudi River Clean-up Project Supervisor and Educational specialist, Mervis Mwai Maigwa believes their intervention on Mudi River will encourage more Malawians to take care of the environment.

“The Mudi River Clean-up project is a waste management project; we are trying to manage the waste by removing the dirty and visible waste in the river.

“Long way back the river supplied people with clean water for various purposes but now it’s filthy, stinks and is polluted. So now, we are collecting the waste, then sorting it into piles of plastic papers, plastic bottles and fabrics. We clean them up and then recycle to make bags, mats, dolls and eco bricks from the plastics.

“The main challenges that we are facing is the issue of time and labour. This project takes time and we have only been funded to work on it for three months.

“We also do not have enough people to work with even volunteers. Currently we have 90 people on site and we have been able to hire sculptors, tailors and general labourers. We have managed to plant trees and right now we are creating artworks along the river turning dead wood into beautiful art with the aim of restoring Mudi River into a tourist attraction in Blantyre,” said Maigwa.  

While commending Art Malawi for a clean-up initiative in Mudi River, prominent environmentalist Mathews Malata has pleaded with the government to punish companies that dump wastes in rivers amid complaints that such malpractices have caused heavy pollution in Mudi River.

Malata is concerned that the government is taking too long to punish companies that are dumping waste in rivers including Mudi in Blantyre as currently, Mudi poses serious health threats to people who rely on the river for water.

“Any effort that is aimed at contributing or to lessen some of the environmental challenges we are experiencing in the country is welcome. Cleaning Mudi river and recycling or out cycling are welcome ideas but what we need are sustainable innovations. Blantyre City Council needs to come up with more sustainable solutions because these short-term solutions have not yielded much.

“We need heavy investment; we need sustainable plans that we can follow so we can restore the glory of the river. It is a strategic river passing through the city and what is it now is quite appalling and it is unfortunate that the culprits have not been apprehended, have been left scot free and it appears they are not paying attention anymore,” said Malata.

The Mudi River Clean-up project which started on 8 August, 2021 is running for 70 days and is aimed at restoring the Mudi River to its beautiful state.

(Written by Karen Chinembiri and Andrew Maneya)

 

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