Optical Photography‘s Prudence Kasinja leads the exercise
* Learners at the school struggle to find shelter when it is hot because the premises is bare of trees
* This is just the beginning of the exercise as we are planning to identify other areas where we’ll plant other
By Victor Singano Jnr, Correspondent
Renowned and fast growing youth-managed company, Optical Photography have embarked on a tree planting in response to the National Forestry Season by inspiring Yolodani Primary School learners to plant 1,000 trees.
Situated at the foot of Michiru Mountain forest in Chilomoni, Blantyre, learners at the school struggle to find shelter when it is hot because the premises is bare of trees that can provide fresh air.
Among trees that were planted included keisha, m’bawa, ntangatanga, nyowe, mombo, msabafumu and in her remarks, managing director of Optical Photography, Prudence Kasinja said they decided to embark on the tree planting exercise in order to help fight against deforestation and making sure that the country turns back to green like it was in the past years.
She added that they thought it wise to commence the exercise at Yolodani School after noticing that the campus had no trees around where teachers and learners could access some shade as well as protection of the class blocks from heavy winds.
“As one way of showing what good corporate citizens are supposed to do, we thought it wise to contribute something to the environment by planting these trees,” she said. “This is just the beginning of the exercise as we are planning to identify other areas where we’ll plant other.”
Chilomoni Zone Primary Education Advisor, Mirriam Mtukane applauded Optical Photography for the gesture, saying once they grow would really play a big role in making the campus to look attractive and provide shade for pupils.
She encouraged the learners, who had enthusiastically participated in the exercise, to take care of the trees to achieve a high percentage of survival.
The exercise was done in conjunction with Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM), whose environmental educational manager, Ausward Bonongwe commended Optical Photography for initiative, saying apart from providing shade for the pupils, the trees will also assist to mitigate soil erosion and conserve the environment.
“This is a great initiative and as WESM, we are proud of Optical Photography for considering to plant these trees,” he said. “We promise that together with the environmental and wildlife clubs, we will protect the trees.”
WESM is targeting to plant 2 million trees in Blantyre in 2023 alone.