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How to build a trash cleanup system- Cari M.
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Aug 16, 2008 Posted by Caitlin CohenI'm back home in MA after spending the summer in Bamako and still trying to adjust to the intense differences between Sikoroni and the states. Hot running water and preserving produce in a refrigerator are welcome luxuries, albeit still somewhat perplexing knowing how expensive and even downright impossible such taken-for-granted amenities are in Bamako's slums.
Since my last blog update in July, the waste management program, specifically, has made exciting progress. The CHAG completed a survey of nearly 100 households in Sikoroni's six districts about interest in and barriers to waste-management service subscription. Now that I’m back stateside, reliable electricity and technological access will allow me to tabulate and analyze these results, which I will summarize, email to Niang in Mali to ensure that it is discussed in detail with the CHAG as plans progress to expand the program. Such administrative work is much easier stateside due to the laws of supply and demand – in Mali, even unreliable internet connections and mediocre printing quality costs far more than it would in the states.
Even more exciting, however, is the success of our first meeting between private waste management entrepreneurs. At the beginning of August, stakeholders discussed preliminary opportunities to collaborate, expand household waste collection and subsequently increase profits. Two members from the CHAG were also in attendance. Everyone proved to be extremely supportive of "journées de salubrité,"(public clean-up days). The first of six is scheduled for August 23rd. Public clean-up days will not only make MHOP's work much more visible in the community but improve environmental conditions slum-wide by working collectively to remove physical waste from public spaces. The positive public health implications of waste removal are enormous!
While I wish that I could be in Mali to participate in the first jounée de salubrité, I am still extremely pleased with the foundational support for the waste management program laid throughout summer 2008. I feel optimistic that the momentum of such strong support from various community and entrepreneurial stakeholders will only continue to expand and sustain the program from here.
I know that I will miss the energy of Sikoroni and the unforgettable dynamism inherent to Malians, but being home in no way prevents me from continuing to support MHOP's on-the-ground work.
Back to tabulating household waste survey results!
Caroline Mailloux
MHOP Sanitation Coordinator