On 21
September 2013 the Rotaract Club of Matopos in partnership with the Rotaract Club of Belmont and the rest of the Bulawayo Community joined Environment Africa and participated in a
march to commemorate World Rhino Day at the same time raising awareness on
the plight of Rhinos in our country. The day was filled with so much excitement,
with the absence of our club photographer Ernest Mackina being greatly felt as
we lacked someone who could capture the beautiful moment (yours truly and a few other
Rotaractors had to save the day by capturing the moments on our smart phones a
far cry from the 20something megapixel shots usually captured by our very own professional
photographer Mackina who was away on Intwasa duties). The march started at Hard
square commonly known as Hamara eggs 
The march a
brainchild of Rtn Charlene and her organisation Environment Africa(EA) has been taking place
for the past 2 years in Harare, but this time her organisation decided to bring it to
Bulawayo. Environment Africa , a Zimbabwean rooted not for profit organisation
with over 20 years of African experience in responding to the needs of
all African people and the environment. The organisation's main focus is
providing African solutions for the most pressing environment and development
challenges whilst working with conservation and communities in a collaborative,
innovative and action orientated way that promotes a sustainable future for
Africa. The World Rhino Day commemoration march was graced by the new Minister of
Environment Mr Saviour Kasukuwere coupled with a lot of high profile dignitaries
in the Zim politics who set aside their busy schedules to take part in this
event. The march helped in raising the much needed awareness on rhino
conservation given the depleting population numbers that are taking place in
most of Zimbabwe’s game parks given the escalation in the poaching tendencies
by individuals who go after the rhino for its horn. According to media reports,
Zimbabwe is home to the world’s fourth largest
black rhino population after South Africa, Namibia and Kenya and nearly
one-quarter of the country’s rhinos have been slaughtered by organized gangs of
poachers between 2007 and 2009, as once again Southern African nations faced an
upsurge in poaching activity. This renewed poaching activity is driven
primarily by use in Viet Nam where rhino horn is used as a “blood purifier” to
treat the symptoms of over-indulging in alcoholic beverages and rich foods, and
is rumoured to be a cure for life threatening diseases such as cancer.
The use of powdered rhino horn to reduce fevers also remains a
traditional remedy in China and other countries. Despite the recent increase in
demand for horn, rhino management and protection efforts by organisations like
Environment Africa have been working and black rhino numbers are actually
increasing.
On that same day Environment Africa founder Rtn Charlene "Charlie" Hewat was appointed the
first Rhino Ambassador for Zimbabwe by the Minister, in his remarks the
Minister described Rtn Charlene as a committed
and highly respected conservationist who has worked for over 20 years to raise
awareness on the need of rhino conservation, he added on to say that the
government of Zimbabwe had decided to appoint her the Rhino ambassador given
the hard work she has been doing over the years with her organisation to
address the awareness of Rhino poaching and the possibility of them becoming
extinct in Zimbabwe if nothing is done about the poaching. The march ended with
lots of food and music. To the Belmont and Matopos Rotaract Teams, we say bravo
to you for the job well done.
Article written by Club reporter Chris Xris Chakwana
