Waste is not just about waste.
It is about systems that don’t work, responsibilities that are unclear and communities that have learned to wait for solutions from somewhere else.
Too often, waste only becomes visible when it becomes a problem, when drains are blocked, streets are littered and the smell becomes impossible to ignore.
At that point, the question is usually the same: who is responsible?
In Lilanda Township, Kapwepwe Ward in Matero Constituency a different question is beginning to take shape. What happens when no one waits to be told and people take responsibility themselves? The answer is beginning to unfold through the actions of young people who are choosing to lead.
From Engagement to Ownership
What is happening in the Kapwepwe Ward is not just another community activity. It reflects a deeper shift in how change is understood and driven at local level.
Junior Councilors and Junior Ward Development Committee members recently came together with Triple Impact youth enterprise, which focuses on waste management. The engagement was a space for reflection, planning and collective thinking.
Together, they began to look at waste not only as a physical problem, but as a behavioural one. The conversation moved beyond collection and disposal and into how communities understand responsibility.
As a result, they identified sensitisation as a key strategy. Churches and markets without community based enterprises were prioritised. These are spaces where people gather regularly, where habits are reinforced, and where messages can travel quickly through everyday interaction.
The intention is not simply to manage waste. It is to change how communities think about it.
The Matero Clean Revolution
At the centre of this effort is a growing initiative known as the Matero Clean Revolution.
It is not a campaign led from outside the community. It is not tied to a specific event or timeline. It is a locally driven effort where community members take responsibility for maintaining the cleanliness of their own spaces.
This distinction is important.
When cleaning is organised for communities, participation often depends on mobilisation. When communities take responsibility themselves, action becomes part of everyday life.
In Kapwepwe Ward, this shift is becoming visible. Community members are not only responding to waste when it becomes a problem, they are beginning to act before it does.
Youth at the Centre of Change
What makes this initiative particularly significant is the role of young people.
Through structures such as Junior Councilors and Junior Ward Development Committees, young people are not only being introduced to governance, they are actively participating in it. They are identifying issues, engaging others and shaping responses that reflect their lived realities.
This is where the impact deepens.
Because leadership in this context is not theoretical. It is practiced. It is experienced through action, through engagement, and through accountability to the community itself.
Working alongside groups like Triple Impact, young people are also bridging the gap between awareness and action. They are translating ideas into practical steps that communities can adopt and sustain.
Creating Space for Communities to Lead
The role of the Zambian Governance Foundation in this process has been to create space rather than direct action.
By supporting engagement and encouraging community driven approaches, the focus shifts from implementation to ownership. This allows ideas to emerge from within the community and gives people the opportunity to shape solutions that reflect their context.
This kind of approach recognises that sustainable change cannot be imposed. It has to be built through participation, trust, and shared responsibility.
Rethinking What Change Looks Like
The Matero Clean Revolution may begin with waste management, but it points to something much broader.
It challenges the idea that solutions must come from outside. It questions the assumption that communities need to be directed before they can act. And it highlights what becomes possible when people begin to see themselves as responsible for the spaces they live in.
This is not just about cleaner streets. It is about a shift in mindset.
Because when communities stop waiting and start leading, change does not just happen. It lasts.
And in Lilanda Township, Kapwepwe Ward, that shift is already underway.
To learn more, feel free to reach out via info@zgf.org.zm
