In today's world and especially with the digital world beginning to take over, people are considering going paperless. Readers are choosing digital newspapers over print media, students prefer accessing information on pdf books rather than using hard-copy textbooks and loads of other examples show the decline on dependence on paper - yet this commodity is still a victim of environmental mismanagement.

My question is: What is being done with the piles of books stored in boxes at our homes, thrown away as litter and those that lie in dormant libraries? Is there a way these books can be reused again? Are there not people who might find these books to be of use to them? I am talking of the underprivileged who cannot walk into a store to buy a book. To answer this question among other social questions, this past weekend, JCI Bulawayo in collaboration with local businesses and other individuals decided to do something about the education of the less privileged.

Junior Chambers International (JCI) is a membership based Non-profit organisation of young active citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 that are dedicated to creating positive change in their communities. JCI members identify problems within their communities and come up with solutions to create impact. Likewise, at the beginning of this year, as one of its projects, JCI Bulawayo chose to refurbish a room at Emthunzini Wethemba (a local children's home) and turn it into a library.

Within the past months, the room was painted, renovated and turned into a new study center. But then the real job came up – filling the empty room and shelves with books. It took the combined effort of some individuals and local schools such as Christian Brothers College, Gifford High School and Petra High school for their prompt and generous responses to supply the Children's Home with books. I (Lesedi Evans Shumba, 13 Eco-Generation Ambassador to Zimbabwe) also donated some of my own books and some of Tunza Eco Generation fliers and notepads.

I also took up the opportunity to educate some of the attendants on the importance of re-using and donating old books in ensuring the sustainability, reducing the reproduction, reducing deforestation, decreasing litter and educating the future generation in the process - killing two birds with one stone.

After the event, I arranged with the administrators to allow me to come back to the center on a later date and educate the children on some basic environmental management topics.