ON an early Friday morning in Epworth, the usual bustle at Munyuki and Domboramwari shopping centres paused.
But instead of clients and music spilling from bars, a different scene took centre stage: sex workers, brooms in hand, leading a campaign to sweep, unclog drains and clear litter that has long suffocated their community’s wetlands and waterways.
For years, Epworth’s rivers and wetlands — including Jacha River and Quarry Dam — have been choking under piles of plastics, disposable diapers and discarded condoms.
These items, mostly non-biodegradable, have transformed life-sustaining ecosystems into breeding grounds for mosquitoes, waterborne diseases and climate risks.
Yet, on this day, it was sex workers who stood up as environmental defenders.Precious, a bar lady and sex worker at Munyuki, explained why they had taken the front line.“We live and work here.
When the drains are blocked by diapers and plastics, the place floods, diseases spread, and even crime thrives in the filth,” she said, pausing from sweeping rubbish into a sack.“By cleaning up, we show that sex workers are organised, responsible, and care for the same environment as everyone else.”
Another participant, Grace Tembo, a sex worker at Domboramwari, added:“People think we only take, but today we are giving back.
We want our children and community to live in clean, safe spaces. This is our home too.”Environmental science supports their words.
According to a UNEP study, plastics and diapers take hundreds of years to decompose, releasing toxins into water and soil.
When dumped into wetlands, they reduce the ecosystem’s natural ability to absorb rainfall, worsening floods — a key climate change threat in Zimbabwe.
Used condoms, often flushed or dumped, not only clog drains but also harm aquatic life in key water bodies like Quarry Dam.
Springs of Life Zimbabwe (SLZ), a sex worker-led organisation, mobilised its members for the clean-up. Advocacy officer Mitchell Zengeya said their involvement was about more than hygiene.
“Sex workers are usually excluded from community development,” she said.“But climate change affects us too.
By cleaning wetlands and drains, sex workers are actively contributing to climate resilience and proving that we deserve recognition beyond stereotypes.”The Epworth Local Board Secretary, Dr Wilton Mhanda, applauded the move.
“It is powerful to see sex workers taking ownership,” he said.“When they lead such campaigns, stigma reduces and communities unite for environmental justice.”
Even local business operators welcomed their contribution. Cellphone technician Josiah Tambudzai at Domboramwari said:“When the area is clean, customers come and we feel safe.
Sex workers joining these campaigns shows that everyone has a role in protecting our community.”Carpenter Terrence Mhere at Munyuki echoed the sentiment.“This is about building a culture of care. If all residents participated every month, our streets, wetlands, and drains would be protected from floods and pollution,” he said.
For the sex workers, the campaign is about rewriting their role in society.They are no longer passive bystanders or silent victims of stigma, but agents of change in a country where waste mismanagement worsens climate shocks.
“This is not just about sweeping trash,” said another sexworker.“It is about protecting our wetlands, our homes, and our future. Sex workers are part of the solution.”
As the National Clean-Up Day continues to take root since its launch by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2018, Epworth’s campaign sent a powerful message: when the most marginalised take the lead, environmental action becomes more inclusive, more sustainable and more transformative.
In Epworth, the fight against climate change is being waged by unlikely heroes in red T-shirts — sex workers turning stigma into stewardship and trash into transformation.
Great work 👌👌👌