iEARN Pakistan Youth Volunteering and Community Services Program

Cleaning The Beach at Karachi

13th May '2004

21 iEARN students ,  who are also the YES Scholars 2004 from 10 public, private and trust schools of Karachi along with iEARN Pakistan staff members , have successfully conducted a campaign of cleaning the beach.

Most of these students felt the importance and developed a sense of responsibility for making the environment clean.  They enjoyed this activity thoroughly and felt no shame or disgust in collecting garbage which often people throw without thinking the harm or the damage it may cause to others.

"It was all part of community service ,the purpose of this activity is for us to create an awareness and take civic responsibility .This was just an initial step and it cannot bring a big difference but at least it can create a small change in the thinkings of all of us who were involved , and hopefully we will avoid throwing wrappers so carelessly in our beautiful sea, the next time we go to the sea. Sarah Jaffery - Habib Girls School.

The  students enthusiastically filled their sacks with loads of garbage that was lying at the sea shore, thrown by many educated and uneducated civilians who intentionally and unintentionally throw the garbage which makes the sea shore give a dirty look and also endangers other living species of the sea.

The garbage collected and compiled in a corner by the students during their  campaign of cleaning the beach, is waiting for the garbage removal truck from the municipal corporation.

Group of girls enthusiastically digging the sand and collecting the trash that is stuck in the sand.

Emptying the sacks filled with garbage in a corner.

I realized that how all those children feel when they collect litter from the roads and corners of the streets and I felt that how they touch these things without any disgust and earn little amount of money. But I didn’t feel any disgust I felt as if I am also with those people who collect garbage and it was a new and superb feeling and it was fun. We collected papers, cans, clothes, and some broken shoes too. And then when the plastic bags got full we emptied them and then used them again to collect garbage and all the litter- Urooba Azhar Government Girls School.

Two young innocent kids who have voluntary adopted picking up garbage as a profession. They collect garbage from the sea side and sell the recyclable material in the market. These kids though showed interest in going to school but also admitted due to family restrictions and for providing bread and butter to the family, cannot attain education. The YES students urged these two young boys to let them talk to their families to convince them to let these students join a school. But due to fear of parents and poor financial conditions the boys refused to seek help.

We made pairs and were given bags to fill in the garbage and for nearly one and a half hour we with all our heart and soul did this community service. All the garbage bags were disposed by the municipality workers. As such the area which was worked on by us was just an inch but there might be people with us. It also gave us a lesson that it's easy to spread garbage but not easy to clean.- Farwa Marchant Habib Girls School.