Some Blantyre-based Muslims on Sunday kicked off a tree planting project with over 300 trees planted at Bangwe Cemetery in Malawi’s commercial capital.
The project was conceived on the Malawi Muslims Official Website WhatsApp chat group.
According to the initiative’s Project Manager Yahya Ismael Phiri, the group saw the need to plant trees as they are required when burying their loved ones.
“Trees are used every time we bury our loved ones. This means that with time the trees become scarce. We, therefore, need to make a deliberate effort to replace them from time to time,” he said.
Yahya further said apart from Bangwe, the exercise will continue to other cemeteries around Blantyre as they plan to plant over 1,000 trees before the end of this month.
The funds to buy the seedlings were contributed by members of the WhatsApp chat group.
“Next week we will be in Ndirande,” he said, adding that women will also be involved in the project.
In his remarks, one of the Sheikhs who attended the event, Sheikh Omar Nkachelenga, said Islam encourages Muslims to plant trees as an act of worship.
He stressed that tree planting is associated with many rewards.
“We (also) have some verses in the Quran which mention the benefit of planting trees,” he said.
The Sheikh further commended Malawi Muslims Official Website WhatsApp chat group for the initiative.
“This is something we all need to be doing as Muslims. Our groups should not just be for gossiping and spreading fake news. It’s high time we have started utilizing social media for good causes. I, therefore, commend this group for conceiving ideas with noticeable social impact,” said Sheikh Nkachelenga.
The event attracted other prominent Muslims including journalists from different media houses.
Station Manager at Radio Islam Ali Blessings Idi said he decided to participate in the exercise because of its associated positive social impact and spiritual rewards in the hereafter.
He encouraged other Muslims and other Malawians to emulate the gesture and take part in tree planting exercises.
“According to Malawi Government, the tree planting season began in December last year and runs up to April this year. This means that we still have plenty of time to continue the exercise,” said Ali.
