Chinese lend hands to Kenya's environment protection

A Chinese company on Saturday joined environmentalists in marking the Cleanup World Day Celebration in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, lending hands to environmental protection in the east African nation.

Over 50 employees, including 12 Chinese, with China Wuyi Company participated in cleanup event of the city's Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach organized by National Environment management (NEMA) and the county government.

Speaking to Xinhua in Mombasa, the Chinese company project manager Zhang Qiang said that the company has participated in various social activities like digging waterholes, building schools for local community over the past decade.

"It's the responsibility of everyone to maintain good environment. We are embraced by a good number of residents who have turned up in the cleanup."he said.

Zhang added his company, which is working on the city's airport road renovation, will continue to partner with other stakeholders to initiate activities like this to keep the environment clean.

"It is a volunteer job. It needs everyone's efforts to safeguard our environment," said Francis Wanyoike, who has been working in the Chinese company for 7 years. " It is not my first time doing such thing. I went to Kibera to clean up the neighborhood with my Chinese colleagues two years ago when I was in Nairobi."

Established in 1993, the Cleanup the World Day is celebrated globally on the 3rd weekend in September each year.

The campaign, under the theme of creating a "trash free sea" and "keep Kenya clean", attracts hundreds of volunteers, including pupils, to collect debris and plastic waste that are threatening the marine ecosystem.

Pollution has been a major problem along the coastal region."It is everyone's responsibility. We want the a white and clean beach," said NEMA Director Ayub Macharia.

"We are quite excited to have Chinese company to support this evernt. It is a major partner today," said Macharia, adding that they will continue to collaborate with other companies like the Chinese one in making the marine environment clean.

Kenyan coastal beaches have in the past been highly rated, with south coast beaches voted the best in the world.

But one of the factors that have undermined their attractiveness is the filth, especially the ones in the north coast.

Similar cleanups were also conducted in the country's coastal towns of Kilifi and Malindi, according to NEMA.