Regional 5 Youth Games launched, as ministers plant trees

Malawi: Ministers from all countries participating in the Region 5 Games took turns planting trees at Nalikule Teachers College on Friday, December 2, 2022, in an effort to conserve the environment (NTC), writes Judgement Katika.

Malawi is currently hosting the Region 5 Games, which include Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Comoros, Botswana, Eswatini, and Angola.

This was witnessed on Friday, December 2, 2022, when six sports ministers from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, as well as Carols Mendes, vice president of the Region 5 Youth Games from Mozambique, launched the tree planting season and unveiled a legacy plaque at Nalikule Teachers Training College.

Mendes told journalists after the exercise that the initiative will play a significant role in reducing the impact of climate change because Malawi and Mozambique have recently been disproportionately affected by disasters caused by climate change.

Collins Mittochi, the Conserve with Benefit team leader, stated that in order to achieve their environmental goals, they considered donating 5,000 tree seedlings to the exercise.

As a result, he has promised to closely monitor the newly planted trees to ensure their long-term survival.

According to Stanley Mutoya, Chairman of the Region 5 Youth Games Region Organizing Committee, the plaque represents a strong message from athletes and their coaches in the region about the importance of environmental conservation.

He stated that people should not cut down trees arbitrarily and that we should avoid littering in any case.

According to him, the message was that the environment required people to be its custodians, so they should ensure that trees and animals are cared for, and in doing so, people will have to do sports with a human face.