00:00 Once a month, Hassan Tenyo takes a dive to search for waste.
00:06 Though visibility underwater is low, he and his colleagues don't have to dive too deep,
00:11 since plastic floats towards the surface.
00:14 Lake Victoria, Africa's biggest freshwater lake, is full of trash.
00:19 Down there, when I dive down there, there are some plastics and these fishing nets,
00:26 which are no longer being used by the fishermen.
00:29 Hassan Tenyo lives on the Ugandan shore of Lake Victoria.
00:33 Though he earns most of his money from boat tours, for almost three years now,
00:37 he's been diving for a local organisation that aims to clean up the lake.
00:41 They pull out abandoned fishnets, or ghost nets, which are dangerous for the divers and their project.
00:47 There's a day when I entered there down and I was grabbed with a fishing net.
00:52 Yeah, that's the worst thing I have ever...
00:56 I used my knife, which I move with, and I tried to cut all of them.
01:02 They not only clean up the water, they also retrieve waste from the shore.
01:07 That's covered in dense vegetation.
01:09 The nine-man team also gets help from volunteers.
01:13 Each month, they gather tonnes of plastic and bring it to land.
01:18 Faizo Motumba started the initiative.
01:21 He's been organising regular clean-ups here for four years.
01:24 His programme, Uganda Junior Rangers, aims to return the lake to its natural state.
01:30 The plastic and other waste in Lake Victoria mainly comes from the canals of Uganda's capital, Kampala,
01:37 especially the Nashivowo Canal.
01:39 A team of the Junior Rangers works here three times a week.
01:43 So we try to build stewardship and community buy-in in what we are trying to do
01:49 through these community activities, clean-up activities,
01:53 and whenever we go in the communities, we engage with the communities,
01:56 try to get them involved, then educate them about the negative impact it has to their communities and their neighbourhood.
02:05 Those living near the canal are starting to realise that it's healthier and better for the environment,
02:11 not to throw waste into the water.
02:14 If we solve them from this side, we shall make sure that the lake is free
02:19 and convenient for swimming and for fishing and for all other activities that will take place on the lakes.
02:25 Getting all the plastic out of Lake Victoria will be a huge undertaking.
02:30 The lake is almost as big as Sierra Leone.
02:33 Though there are laws against water contamination in Uganda, they're not very effective.
02:39 The country also doesn't have a functioning waste management system.
02:43 The government is currently discussing a stricter environment protection law that would penalise polluters.
02:50 He who pollutes is supposed to pay for the cleaner.
02:54 And in most cases, people think that it's OK for me to pollute,
02:59 and then government should be able to do the cleaner.
03:02 There are certain fines, administrative fines, that are going to be there under the National Environmental Act,
03:09 which will discourage people from littering.
03:12 The government supports the organisation only in theory.
03:15 Their only regular source of income comes from selling plastics to recycling companies
03:21 where they are converted to brick or similar products.
03:24 The money they earn from that helps cover the team's costs.
03:28 The group also collaborates with two international aid organisations.
03:32 With their help, they've been able to buy two cargo bikes and their boat.
03:37 The support we get is majorly to fuel the boat, then facilitate the use of the teams that we work with.
03:45 But no major money that we gain from this is majorly voluntary.
03:50 So far, not enough people have taken measures to help protect Lake Victoria.
03:56 Clean water is critical for the survival of those who live on the lake.
04:01 Mr Ntenyo comes from a family of fishers and knows first-hand how important this is.
04:08 I don't earn a lot from diving, but the way I love this job, I just work so that I can help other people's lives.
04:18 He and his group want to continue their project.
04:22 They will continue educating young people in the process, which will allow their diving team to keep growing.
04:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]
