Durban Scout tackles plastic pollution at harbour
Koko Bora Bahizire said ongoing plastic pollution at the Durban harbour is a major problem.
A DURBAN Troop Scouter with a passion for the community is working hard to fight plastic pollution at the Durban harbour.
Following the storm on New Year’s Eve, Koko Bora Bahizire from the 1st Port Natal Sea Scouts tackled a major clean-up at the harbour near the Sea Scouts hall.
Two trucks were filled with rubbish after new year’s eve, and last week he took on a clean-up, filling 120 black bags and eight large sacks with plastic bottles from the water.
Koko has been involved in Scouting for 29 years, starting as a youngster living in the Congo.
“I have had a passion for it all my life,” he said.
He has been involved in youth development in refugee camps around Africa and is dedicated to helping the youth.
He arrived in South Africa in 2007, and has been a part of the 1st Port Natal Sea Scouts group since 2013, working with the children as a volunteer.
“I started a project where we save funds to send a matriculant, whose parents can’t afford to educate them further, on to the training centre in Durban to get a skill. One of the former recipients of this project is now working a waiter in uMhlanga, and there have been other success stories. Every year we try to support one child,” he said.
Koko also focuses on teaching the children and is currently working on training them to have a passion for recycling.
“After the clean-up at the harbour, there was more plastic washed in. It is an ongoing problem and I want to get the Scouts together to help clean,” he said. Koko said he needs help to clean up at the harbour and it all comes down to people being educated.
“We collected three to four tons of plastic waste from the harbour last year,” he added.
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He said Scouts SA in collaboration with the UN Environmental Programme and the World Organisation of Scout Movements have developed an initiative titled Tide Turners Plastic Challenge, which aims at mobilising children aged between seven and 17 to take action to reduce plastic waste in their lives, at schools and in communities.
“With this programme I will be focusing on three things with our children. We will survey people in the area, asking them what they do with plastic they use, we will be going to educate people on how to recycle, visiting churches and community events, and we will start a recycling programme, focusing on the harbour. We are encouraging people to volunteer in their communities, and children need to be educated about the importance of recycling,” he said.
Koko said the 1st Port Natal Sea Scouts welcomed children from the surrounding communities and encouraged them to join the Scouts.
Anyone interested in joining can contact Koko on 083 586 6513 or Scouts Head Office on 031 207 5738.
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