Bester Moyo Bringing Change to Budiriro Community
As a community focal person trained by JCT, Ms. Bester Moyo is very active on child protection issues within the community. It therefore came as no surprise when she was incorporated into one of the local schools’ School Development Committee (SDC). Ms. Moyo did not wait to look at the legal issues only but at all issues affecting children in the area. One of the issues that caught Ms. Moyo’s eye was the continuos flow of raw sewage at the school which put the health of the children at risk. Ms. Moyo took the matter to the school headmaster who made efforts to contact the Municipal authorities so that they could come and repair the burst sewer pipe but all efforts were in vain as no one came to make the repairs.
Ms. Moyo, together with other concerned parents engaged the media on the issue and the matter was recorded and aired on national television during the news of the 5thon July 2016 and repeated again on the 6th of July 2016. The journalists sought a response on the matter from the City of Harare spokesperson Mr. Michael Chideme who indicated that personnel were going to be deployed immediately to rectify the situation. By end of day on the 6th of July 2016, the burst sewer pipe had been repaired and sewage had stopped flowing into the school premises. Disinfectant chemicals were also poured on the sewer that was flowing and what is left is for the flowing sewer to dry. We applaud Ms. Moyo for being a real advocate for the children in ensuring that children live and learn in a safe environment. Pictures below show the children at the school navigating their way through the flowing sewage.