TNM Plants 12 Thousand Trees At Kauma Sewage Site in Lilongwe

TNM Plants 12 Thousand Trees At Kauma Sewage Site in Lilongwe

Telecom Networks Malawi in the central region has embarked on tree planting exercise around Kauma sewage site as a way of reducing bad gases that are produced and evaporates from the sewage banks, reaching to residents around the area.

The central region team from TNM was on Thursday morning planting trees together with members of communities that surround Kauma sewage including officials from Lilongwe City Council.

“TNM is just continuing its annual programme regarding tree planting” said Danny Malisita Head of Central Region at TNM, “This time around, we felt the urge as a Malawian company to come in so strongly this time around after experiencing floods starting early this year”

When asked why taking this year’s tree planting season to Kauma, Malisita said “This area was affected in two ways, firstly the sewage system here releases toxic gases that are bad to the people around this area and we believe planting trees around this place will help to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen that would be beneficial to residents around here.”

Secondly he said “So many houses were damaged and roofs blown away (referring to a thunderstorm that affected the area early this year), so we thought if we could prioritize Kauma area it would make a big difference to the lives of people that lives around this place”

“We thought we are the right people to intervene and resolve these problems” he said 

Malisita has indicate that TNM this year is planting 36 thousand trees national wide, whereby 12 thousand trees are to be planted in all the three regions of Malawi. He said in the southern region TNM is planting in Monke-bay, Mangochi district and in the northern region they are planting in Chikangawa, Mzimba district. While in the central region TNM has chosen Kauma sewage which is also very close to Lilongwe river.

TNM’s Head of Central Region, Malisita mentioned that the company all the trees being planted costs up to K2.7 million.

Group Village Headman (GVH) Kauma who was among the community members planting the trees, commends TNM for decision to plant trees around his territory. He promised cooperation with other village headmen and come up with set of restrictions in order to protect the trees being planted in his area.

“We will condone any conduct that will lead to deracinate trees here or allow cattle’s to graze around this place, we will make sure that these trees are well protected” Said GVH Kauma   

Kauma Rainstorm Death Toll Reaches 2

Kauma Rainstorm Dath Tll Reaches 2

The rainstorm that destroyed houses in Lilongwe has claimed another life at Kauma. Samson Chirwa a father of three children has died after falling from a roof top of friend’s house trying to repair it from damage caused by the storm.

In Lilongwe the recorded death due to the thunderstorm that happened in the night of Friday 2^nd January 2015 was of a 10 year old Sakira Banda who was electrocuted after stepping on a fallen ESCOM live-wire as she escaped when the roof to her house was being blown-off.

But as of Sunday morning people in the area were also mourning a man whose deaths was the result of the damage brought by the storm.

According to the deceased’s cousin Dickson Tchongwe, on Saturday morning Samson Chirwa left work unfinished of fixing damaged roof of one of his houses to help fix three damaged roof sheets of a friend’s house.

“He climbed to the roof of the house and had a hammer in his hand.” explained Chirwa’s cousin, “As he tried to repair on one roof sheets the hammer slipped from his hand and fell on the floor. He was trying to look down when he suddenly lost his foothold on some timbers and down he went, sliding, falling on a cement floor and smashed back of his head.”

Tchongwe said the back of deceased head started to swell rapidly and was rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital where he died upon arrival. He said his remains were taken on Monday afternoon to his home village of T/A Maulawo in Mzimba district where the burial is expected to take place on Tuesday.

But Tchongwe said police were informed of the accident when the officials at Kamuzu Hospital insisted that family members should get police clearance first before taking remains of Chirwa from the hospital mortuary because the accident that lead to this death require police report.

The raging thunderstorm on Friday night damage and demolish more than 200 houses at Kauma leaving many people homeless. High winds knocked down the trees, cutting power in the process leaving electric wires and poles lying on the ground and some roofing sheets landed on electric poles and some in the trees.

Some victims said starting around 02:00 hours of Saturday when the storm blew off their home roofs they remained outside soaking in the rains till around morning hours when the rains stopped.

Same night the thunderstorm also hit some parts of the country. It also left 3 children from one family dead after being hit by lightning in Kasungu District and also in Karonga 6 people were injured.