World Cleanup Day launch 2018
Singapore is internationally renowned as a “clean and green city” and we are proud of our reputation. Elsewhere in the world, even in many first world metropolitan cities, towns are strewn with trash on every sidewalk, subways are infested with rats scuttering around for food, and a foul pungent smell emanates from the recesses of certain alleyways. However, we must not take Singapore’s cleanliness for granted, as cleanliness is every Singaporean’s responsibility.
Great Glory Church strongly believes in in protecting our environment as well as serving our community and nation where we both live and work in. Putting these values and beliefs into action, our community outreach arm Kindred Community, joined forces with 146 other countries across 24 time zones on 15th September 2018 to participate in World Cleanup Day 2018. As its name suggests, World Cleanup Day is a day where participants take action to clean up the world. This was the first time in which Singapore participated in this world-wide effort and we are grateful that Kindred Community was given the honour of being the appointed Singapore representative for this event, so that we can do our part for the nation.
On that special day, we gathered a total of 266 volunteers in Singapore from our families to friends to clean up at 6 locations in Singapore (Bukit Merah, Chinatown, Hillview, Jurong East, Ubi, Yishun). We were also joined by the EU Delegation and ambassadors, as well as students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Riverside Secondary School. Donning Kindred Community’s blue vests, and armed with tongs and rubbish bags, we broke into small groups in search of trash. One group managed to gather 32kg worth of waste including wine bottles, a helmet, sweet wrappers, cigarette butts, etc. A total of 170kg worth of waste was collected at the end of the day. This was not an easy feat especially in Singapore’s sweltering weather. Participants of the event took away more than just the experience of a regular clean-up but the realisation in that the smallest effort to pickup trash could make a huge difference in the environment and society. Every action counts in the upkeep of our nation’s image and spirit.
Kindred Community was also involved in the world-wide project to gather 10,000 pledges for this 1 Goal. By doing so, we sought to create a louder voice and raise awareness about the importance of environmental health so that Singaporeans would make a conscious effort to reduce waste in their daily life. Picking trash a day may keep the rats away that day but instilling a culture of cleanliness in Singaporeans will go a much longer way.
In addition, prior to this event, Kindred Community organised several beach clean ups along the coasts of Singapore and invited many members of the public to join us. In addition, we held a sustainability conference in July 2018 where we met similar individuals and NGOs fighting for the same cause. We also participated in on an education excursion to the Senoko incinerator and learnt about the issues of trash disposal and how Singapore deals with this problem despite our limited land. 2018 was the beginning of our journey in making a positive impact and change in our environment. We believe that great change can only come with big dreams and the right mindset. In the years to come we will continue to grow in positivity to achieve a cleaner and greener homeland, our Singapore.
