Tunatazama - Community Monitors

Air pollution awareness campaign

Date:15 -09- 21
Name: Zamokwakhe Shabalala
Place: Newcastle
Municipality: Dannhouser municipality
Province: KwaZulu Natal

#climatechange

On 2019 we were doing a project to teach school children about air pollution that led us to climate change.

Our purpose was to make children aware anout the dangers of inhaling the dust of coal mines (ikwezi mine and S.A Calcium Carbide Ballangech) because all those mines are closeby to the communities and have many trucks and machine travelling on and off the mines making alot of dust to the community on the gravel road. When mine do blasting they affect all well-being and rivers get contaminated. Children and elders are getting sick easily when they inhale the unclean air. When you go to the Clinic you find a long queue and will not get help.

We did this project in three schools ( Sondela Primary school, Ncandu Combined school and Mbabane Primary school and Ingwe primary school. All these awareness campaigns were successful and teachers helped us to circulate pictures of the impacts of air pollution that are made by mines to the community.

After lecturing them we asked children to tell us what they learned. The children talked about planting trees and recycling so that we reduce the impacts of pollution. This project is still on track to teach children about the impotence of environment and to know how to keep it safe. As chapter 2 of the bill of right says: you have the right to live in a safe, healthy environment. But now we have an issue of pandemic and we are worried about the affected communities.

As an environmental activist is our work to educate community about the bad impacts of mining and human rights.