Jan 02, 2010 at 06:03 PM
One of the most important projects undertaken by the Municipality in collaboration with the UN-HABITAT was the plantation of flower trees in the middle of the main roads of Burao in 2009. 01-2010
Many people were skeptical about the feasibility of the project at first, because they said that the animals (goats) would climb the protection housing of the flowers and eat the leaves.
Others argued that the street boys would vandalize them and many people were against the project out right because they claimed that there were other pressing things to do than the planting of flowers. Any way, the project was executed and all of them were proven to be wrong.
Actually, the people of Burao liked what they saw in the middle of their town and they appreciated the beauty of the flowers. They compared the difference between the bright and beautiful sights of the yellow and red flowers of the Tacoma and pomegranate and the stinking rubbish that used to be dumped in front of their shops in the same location of the present flowers. In fact, the shopkeepers facing the flowers became their guardians and they do not allow anybody to vandalize them. Some of them even collect the plastic bags from the protection housings.
Moreover, the people of Burao became aware of the importance of the aesthetic beauty of their city. Actually, it is a common sight in the afternoon to see school children and others standing in front of the flower trees and arguing about the names of the plants. Moreover, others were impressed by the brightness and beauty of the flowers that they started to plant the same trees in their yards. In short, the following benefits were gained from the implementation of this project:
v The awareness of the people of their environment have increased
v The appreciation and interest of the people in flower trees have also increased
v The beauty and cleanliness of the city have improved.
v Other towns and cities in Somaliland have also gained by starting the same identical projects.
Because of the above mentioned benefits and success of the project, Burao Municipality is also planning to complete the extension of the project to the other remaining roads of Burao.
And finally, this project would not have been successfully completed without the contribution of Engineer Yusuf M. Ali Qoys who has proposed and implemented the project. His simple design for the protection housings and the choice of flowers has been superb.
Ahmed Suldaan Aadan Yusuf (suulceyn)
Director of Administration and Finance/ Local Project Coordinator
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