Creating jobs through environmental conservation

Upon successful completion of his studies at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Recourses (LUANAR) in agriculture economics, life could not offer the much expected for Kumbukani Mamba.

Mamba, a 2016 LUANAR product, is one of the many graduates who after graduating from various public as well as private universities are still searching for white-collar jobs as a way of sustaining themselves.

“I have realized that life does not offer us what we expect as we come out of school, we all expect to land good jobs, driving posh cars, and being financially stable, but alas! This does not just come on a silver platter,” Mamba laments.

Mamba, 27, together with 19 other youths in Balaka have joined hands and facilitated the establishment of the Springs of Hope, a local non-governmental organization (NGO) located in the Balaka districts Majiga 1 Township at a place that Mamba inherited from his parents who passed away a long time ago.

At this place, the youth are involved in various activities ranging from thin plastic recycling, glass bottle recycling to re-afforestation, all these efforts in the spirit of conserving the environment.

“When I graduated from college, I was lucky to have done an internship at the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development which I finished in 2017; that is when I moved to Zomba, where I stayed briefly and came back to Balaka and ventured into poultry farming,” Mamba explains.

“It is at this time that I noted that there were a lot of young people, well educated, talented, but literally were idle brains. I approached those I thought could embrace my views. Fortunately, I was successful. We registered Springs of Hope, instantly,” he states.

At Springs of Hope, there is a combination of different cadres, designers, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) specialists, health, education as well as agriculturalists.

Mamba, together with 19 other young people are recycling thin plastic papers, bottle tops, empty glass bottles into different products for household use.

“Imagine the rate at which our environment is being degraded. Our environment is being polluted with all sorts of things that we throw away; a lot of thin plastic papers, bottle tops, empty glass bottles are being thrown away causing a lot of pollution,” Mamba points out.

“We brought together the various skills that each of the members have and started recycling the waste. In fact, we have partnered with bar and shop owners to collect the bottle tops and the empty glass bottles as well as plastic papers on our behalf so that we recycle the waste into something reusable,” he emphasizes.

Mamba adds that the thin plastic papers are used to make traveling and handbags, noting that all the recycled products are sold for the benefit of members of Springs of Hope.

“At Springs of Hope, we realise that the youth are not future leaders but leaders in action and we are also aware of the level at which our environment has been destroyed because of the wanton cutting down of trees,” Mamba says.

He, therefore, discloses that Springs of Hope has also engaged Balaka District Council through the Department of Forestry to supply the organization with the necessary expertise so that the group can raise trees which will further be distributed to all areas across the district.

“This will be an ongoing exercise as we know working with substances that contribute to pollution alone, cannot be enough, but planting more and more trees to have a sustainable vegetative cover will help to resuscitate the lost environmental glory,” he adds.

Mamba, on the other hand, says the grouping operates on an open-door policy whereby every person with similar intentions like those of Springs of Hope is free to join.

Besides, each member pays a subscription of K1, 000 every month, the money helps to sustain the group apart from proceeds from the sales of various items that they produce, according to Mamba.

On her part, Director for Development Planning at the National Planning Commission, Grace Kumchulesi applauds Springs of Hope for the initiative, saying this will go a long way in supporting the Malawi Vision 2063 which is promoting an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation.

“The young people at Springs of Hope are at the centre of the Malawi 2063 Agenda; specifically they are working on the environmental sustainability aspect, where they are recycling waste which is destroying our environment while creating wealth out of it,” Kumchulesi observes.

“I am encouraged to note that this organization composed of the youth is getting tremendous support from various sections of society be it the district council, the community, traditional as well as political leaders,” she says.

Nonetheless, Kumchulesi says such initiatives being promoted by Springs of Hope need to be scaled up so that more results are seen as the Malawi Vision 2063 is being achieved.

Group Village Head (GVH) Mpulula, in whose jurisdiction Springs of Hope Offices are located, describes the initiative as outstanding.

“I am so happy to see these young people banging heads for a common goal; these young people are complementing the government’s efforts to do away with pollution. Let me, therefore, urge fellow youths around to emulate the example set out by Springs of Hope,” GVH Mpulula advises.

The traditional leader says there were more benefits to join such efforts for the betterment of present and as well as future generations, noting that if the youth remain engaged in productive activities, they would be dissuaded from indulging in wayward behaviours.

Godfrey Mpinganjira, Balaka District Council Youth Officer, says Springs of Hope is assisting the council in one of the reform areas of sustainable environmental management.

“It is encouraging to see that the youth are in the forefront in conserving and restoring the environment through the various interventions they are doing,” Mpinganjira says. “My office will always work closely with the team and give proper guidance wherever possible as a way of motivating them.”