Five regions to benefit from Ismaili community event

Monday, September 27, 2021 - 3 min read

The Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office (Union Affairs and Environment), Selemani Jafo plants a tree at the Muhimbili Primary School in Dar es Salaam yesterday during the launch of an environment protection programme initiated by the Ismaili community in Dar es Salaam. With him is a community member, Ms Saira Nathoo. PHOTO | LOVENESS BERNARD

By Josephine Christopher

Josephine Christopher is a senior business journalist for The Citizen and Mwananchi newspapers

Mwananchi Communications Limitted

Dar es Salaam. Five Tanzanian regions will be actively involved in an extensive Ismaili community civic engagement for a period of six months.
This will be part of various activities meant to commemorate the Global Ismaili Civic Day, September 26.
The activities will include tree-planting, market sites cleanups, restoration and/or rehabilitation and donation of equipment and supplies.
Speaking yesterday during an event to commemorate the day, President of the Ismaili National Council for Tanzania Amin Lakhani said over 800 volunteers from Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Mbeya, Mwanza and Zanzibar will render nearly 3,000 collective hours to the communities.
“The initiative is working with partnership with government and various Agha Khan Development network agencies to plant 1,000 trees in Dodoma, support 18 fish market food vendors in Mwanza, and support 4,000 school students in Dar, Mbeya, and Zanzibar,” he said.
The Global Ismaili Civic initiative was successfully launched in 2020 in response to His Highness the Aga Khan’s desire that Ismaili civic reflects the community’s ethic of civic engagement, service good citizenship, exemplifying Islam’s core values service, peace, compassion and care for the vulnerable.
Mr Lakhani said: “Our theme this year is environmental stewardship. We will take part in reaching global goal of 20,000 volunteers giving 100,000 hours of service.”
Gracing the event, the Minister of State (Union and Environment), Selemani Jafo, commended the Ismaili community saying that they were leading by example to influence change in protecting the environment and serving the community.
“Environment is the key issue for our country’s development goals, not only to improve the lives of Tanzanians today but for generations to come,” he said.
Minister Jafo said the environment and climate change are among the global agenda, spearheaded by President Samia Suluhu Hassan who during her United Nations General Assembly shared that Tanzania is preparing the national climate agenda strategy.
He added that taking action now is important because impacts of climate change are now more than ever in Tanzania, including rising sea and lake water levels, land degradation, deforestation and air pollution which destroys the ozone layer.
“The government considers environmental management as a priority agenda as reflected in its various initiatives including National Environmental Policy (1997), Environmental Management (2004) and its regulations, programmes and projects,” said the minister.
Moreover, the minister urged the public to adopt the planting trees motion at their homestead and area of businesses in order to protect the environment, at the same time directed city authorities take actions against people who threw away trash anywhere in the city, especially those in public and private transport.
The Ismaili Civic Day was also commemorated in the four regions of Dodoma, Mbeya, Mwanza and Zanzibar through a range of community service.
In Mbeya, the community planted trees and painted walls of the Azimio Primary School under the leadership of the Mbeya District Commissioner, Dr Rashid Chuachua.
In Unguja, they did environmental cleanup at the Zam Zam Primary School in the Mtoni Mazrui area.
Speaking during the event in Unguja, Mtoni representative Hussein Makungu Ismail said activities to preserve the environment have motivated the community to protect school grounds - and this will, in turn, make learning better for the children.