Onitsha, Nigeria, is one of the world's most polluted cities.
And according to a previous report from the World Health Organization, the air quality in that region is among the poorest in the world. And air quality isn't the only issue that they allegedly face, as the environment in that region is also said to be grossly polluted with garbage that litters the streets, and blocks drains etc.
Some people in the region are finally realizing that the government isn't going to address the problem. And one local man there, who is fed up with waiting on someone else to tackle the issue, took it upon himself to try and inspire change.
28-year-old Chris Anaekwe took the time to try and educate locals in his community about getting involved to try and make changes themselves, to tackle the garbage as best that they could.
Anaekwe ended-up inspiring a group of teenagers to join him on his effort to clean-up his community.
Even having to work with what he described as a swollen arm, which made it no-doubt more difficult, that didn't stop him from trying to set an example and possibly inspire others to make a change.
He was allegedly hoping that he could teach his community that they can have a role in keeping it clean.
However, that's exactly what a great deal of people are content with doing. They firmly believe that it is the government's responsibility to maintain the cleanliness and address any issues, so they aren't likely to be inspired to take it upon themselves to sacrifice their time to tackle the mess.
Unfortunately, for those who are waiting on the government to solve their problem, they might find that they are going to be waiting a very long time. The government doesn't pay the price when that community falls into disrepair, they are clearly less motivated to address any issues than those who live directly in the vicinity.
At first, Anaekwe admits that he had a bit of difficulty in trying to persuade people to get involved. Despite the difficulty and reluctance at first though, he kept reiterating the message that if they wanted someone else to clean it, then perhaps they should lead by example and clean it first. And it worked.
These kids demonstrated that it is possible to try and bring about change with a voluntary effort and that they don't need to resort to violence in order to try and address the issue. People were persuaded because they thought it was a good idea to get involved; they didn't need to force people in the community to take action.
Pics:
Pixabay
via Facebook
Hadassah Egbedi via the Guardian
Sources:
http://allthatsinteresting.com/onitsha-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/13/polluted-onitsha-nigeria-perpetual-dust-city-world-worst-air
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=934779413356235&id=100004725556179
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/08/nigerian-cleanup-polluted-city-onitsha-chris-junior-anaekwe
https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/africa/nigeria-cities-pollution/index.html
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Gosh how awful. What terrible conditions to live in.
Much respect to those kids cleaning up their streets. Wish kids around here did that instead of egging houses and playing video games all day.
Inspiring post, thanks for sharing.
a good post I really like the same post you you are great at posting something that is very weighty and very beautiful
Great post. I'm really hoping Steem is able to help transform Nigeria since the government refuses to help the people. I've heard that Steem has already started to lift some people out off poverty by contributing to this platform thru educating and giving back to their communities.
We the People.......will create the World of Tomorrow.
Its upon us as citizens to make sure that our environment is clean and address our issues before taking them to the government
really i appreciate your post.i respect your thought.every people should be come down thats valuable matter.now i read your news post fully this time.its really good post one of them for me. everything is important sir.thank you very much for your good news post and needed to know all people..@doitvoluntarily..
These people are not only abandoned by their government, they are abandoned by climate, luck, human rights and the world, if you will.
The lives of these people are outrageous.
Thank you very much for contributing to the dissemination of this material. dear friend @doitvoluntarily
I wish you a great day
I agree with you, it's a good idea
It's good of Mr Anaekwe. I hope many other neighbours will follow suit. Personally, I join in the monthly sanitation exercise.
wow Wonderful Dear @doitvoluntarily
Gread post..
yes really i like it
wow very dirty so that after the clean it will be clean. if there is time please visit my blog there may be a likes and there are unique in it
Hodl the coins guys, you want to make an impact. Take the money back. We need to set a precedent. A price point and a goal. Did you know if dogecoinhits a dollar before 2019 a lot of the old shibes have dedicated 25k doge to charity, think of the implications of that. Blockchain is the future, decentralizing wealth y’all
Very impressive. This young boy could inspire all of us.
I think it's just a very good example for all of us not just relying on the governments and start doing what is right.
Wooes such young people as chris are worthy of exemplification, given the many layers of society who live far from the government's attention,
Like an educational foundation in my area, a great deal of government attention is needed to help some foundation facilities.Your post is very useful @doitvoluntarily please permit to share
I enjoyed the read. I'm looking forward to more.
This is great that he's doing this. Now he needs to inspire that community to set up permaculture gardens.
Why does the government refuse to help !? do the citizens not pay taxes !? or is it a pass the buck type of thing !? Somebody has to try to at least take responsibility and create change for future generations to come or it will never change ! thanks for sharing @doitvoluntarily ! upped and resteemed !💕✌👍
Good job friend...
As we're finding out in our parts!
Good point, without people involved in those actions and raised social awareness, progress in preserving environment is not possible really.
Poor them... wish they all the best