LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Friends of Khongoni, over the weekend, led community members in Senior Chief Khongoni in Lilongwe rural to plant indigenous trees around four primary schools and on other bare lands in the area.
Friends of Khongoni is a grouping of “sons and daughters” from Senior Chief Khongoni, who contribute their own resources in order to help accelerate various development initiatives in their area.
Speaking during one tree planting session at Kamzimbi Primary School in Group Village Head Mkwekwete, the group’s Vice Chairperson, Matafale Kwananda, said they are sad with the rate at which trees are being destroyed in Senior Chief Khongoni.
He added that trees will be planted every year in many other chosen schools and bare lands.
“We want to replace the forest cover here. We are banking on chiefs and school committes to look after these trees so that they survive and grow fully. We will be coming here often to support them in this effort,” said Kwananda.
In his remarks, Group Village Head Mkwekwete commended Friends of Khongoni for the initiative, saying a lot of trees really need to be planted in Senior Chief Khongoni.
“The destruction of trees here is mostly due to increased human activities. As chiefs, we will sit down with our subjects and tell them the importance of planting trees and looking after the environment,” he said.
The other three schools targeted for tree planting over the weekend were; Mtaula, Kambuzi and Chipala.
According to Kwananda, Friends of Khongoni also help people during disasters in Senior Chief Khongoni and currently working towards raising education standards in the area.
