Africa: never as in poor countries the role of women is fundamental and central in society

Most African countries are under constant pressure due to the phenomena they deal with, droughts, migration, hyper urbanization, poverty, disease and social security .

A part of these phenomena, sometimes linked together, are the consequence of climate change and pollution caused by the negative evolution of the phenomena of world industrialization and by a consumption level that erodes the planet, with all the consequences of case.

Climate change, in some African areas , involves prolonged drought, with consequent food deficits for the population , which is forced to move to urban or sub-urban areas in search of hypothetical better living conditions.

According to an estimate of the United Nations , in urban areas of the world, there would be about 3 billion people and about 1 billion of them in degraded suburban areas, in the absence of minimal services for the person.

The hyper urbanization has health, safety, pollution and livelihood problems for migrant families . Among the many problems that these human agglomerations are forced to face, that of self-produced waste is counted among those of urgent solution.

The metropolitan African cities are not all equipped with waste collection services , which can cope with the constant growth of city expansion and are not even ready to stem and resolve the phenomenon of the increase in plastic waste caused by the change of habit of citizens in the use of packaging.

In fact, what was once Juta, made of metal or wood, soon turned into disposable plastic containers .

The explosive mix of existing problems is surrounded by another social scourge that is rampant unemployment with a consequence linked to the safety of citizens and their livelihood.

In this situation, in some cities, women , who have the actual family responsibility , helped by some European voluntary organizations, have learned to make plastic waste, a means of sustenance for their family , giving a substantial contribution to decorum of their neighborhood and containing those phenomena of health danger that pollution implies.

The voluntary associations have supported them through education on work issues and in the establishment of work cooperatives that deal with the selective collection and sale of plastic waste.

They have created small but widespread collection centers and have the resources to manage their work by giving their families a salary and creating the possibility, not only of food support, but also of schooling their children .

The women involved in this activity were considered the fragile, marginalized, illiterate part of the community, but now, they have become aware of their strength, their importance and their self-determination, which they want to transfer to their children, especially their daughters , in order to build a better life. A lesson for everyone.