Volunteer Activist Campaign in Nepal
"GARBAGE FREE ZONE"
Background
Mangalpur-7 is located in the Chitwan district of Nepal with a population of around 10.000 people. Developing countries like Nepal are facing garbage and waste management problems, due to a rapid population growth and urbanization, and Mangalpur – 7 is no exception. Especially in the urban areas, the problem of garbage is becoming a national issue, with the excessive use of plastic bags, lack of knowledge of disposable and non-disposable waste, lack of recycling facilities, etc. Therefore, ICYE Nepal together with VDYC-Nepal used this campaign and project to initiate the creation of garbage free zones in local areas by organising the Garbage Management Programme with participation of both local residents and volunteers. The aim was to promote public awareness through consultation and minimize environment impact. The objectives were to make Mangalpur - 7 a garbage free zone, make the community, school children, women and youth aware of waste management, present ideas on disposable and non-disposable garbage, ensure proper garbage management in the community, collect suggestions/ideas for better results, and establish collection bins.
About this campaign
The campaign was conducted on 5 June 2014 (World Environment Day) and people from the community, school children and volunteers participated in a rally for raising awareness on the garbage fee zone in Mangalpur-7, Chitwan. 150 people participated on the rally. After that, some garbage collection bins were placed in different places to collect the garbage properly. After a few days, a social survey was conducted to understand the impact of the program. Questionnaires were prepared and interviews conducted to collect the data for the impact and improvement of the programme. Other activities arranged in relation to the project included: Meeting with local people (May), a motorbike rally with local youth (May 28), drama from local artist (June 1).
The garbage management programme is an effective programme for making the village a garbage free zone. The local government provided 100 cement rings to use as bins in the village and seek to raise awareness on keeping the surroundings clean through the garbage programme. An evaluation was conducted, which indicated that more people are using the garbage bins and also demanding more cement rings (bins) for the community. They also suggest making a sustainable programme for the proper management and utilization of the collected garbage. The programme needs to be expanded in others areas to make the whole community a garbage free zone.
Learn more about the organisations:
ICYE Nepal: http://www.icyenepal.org/
