Thursday, March 28, 2024

Popular News

HomeNewsAsiaThousands join drive to clean Jakarta's streets

Thousands join drive to clean Jakarta’s streets

Thousands of volunteers, including Catholics, marked World Cleanup Day on Sept. 15 by collecting garbage from more than hundred litter-prone sites in Jakarta.The two-hour event to promote a cleaner Jakarta included schoolchildren, NGOs, community groups and government agencies.They collected litter discarded at railway and bus stations, malls, hotels, tourist sites, and beaches.Jakarta produces about 7,000 tons of garbage each day, 2,000 tons of which is plastic waste.”The event was meant to tell people not to throw garbage anywhere because it causes floods and pollution,” Angela Jelita Richardson, Coordinator of Jakarta Cleanup Day told ucanews.com.She said the clean-up event began six years ago after she observed huge amount of waste in the sea in North Jakarta. She then gathered friends who had similar environmental concerns and started holding the activity annually. This year it coincided with World Cleanup DayStephanie Mareta, 14, a Catholic student, who participated in the event said, the amount of garbage littering Jakarta was alarming and that she took part in the event because she wanted to inspire people, particularly her peers, to care for environment.”It invites youth to care for their environment and not be afraid of dirty and polluted sites,” she said.Lucia Margareta, 34, who picked up trash from around a hotel, called on fellow Catholics not to wait to be told by the authorities to care for the environment.”Pope Francis has called on us to become heroes to save our earth. We must start by not dropping litter anywhere,” she said.According to Isnawa Adjim who heads the Jakarta Environment Agency, responsibility for the city’s waste problem is a collective one.”Cleanliness is not only government’s responsibility, its down to each and every one of us,” he told ucanews.com.Word Cleanup Day, which started on Sept. 15, 2008 in Estonia, is a global social action program aimed at combating global solid waste problems, which includes maritime pollution.

Popular News

Save the Children decries ‘relentless mental harm’ suffered by Gaza children

Save the Children warns of the "complete psychological destruction" Gaza children are suffering due to five months of war. The humanitarian organization appeals once again for a ceasefire and for emergency aid to be able to reach the people immediately.

Archbishop Wojda elected head of Polish Bishops’ Conference

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the new president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, speaks about the challenges he faces in his new position in an interview with Vatican Radio and Vatican News.

French bishops reiterate opposition to enshrining abortion in constitution

The Bishops’ Conference of France reaffirms its opposition to enshrining the “right” to abortion in the French Constitution, as the Senate and National Assembly prepare to adopt a new bill.

Leaders of Jerusalem Churches strongly condemn deadly attack in Gaza

In a statement posted on Friday 1 March, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem condemn the "wanton attack against innocent civilians" by the Israeli army the previous day in Gaza during a distribution of emergency food aid. They call for a "immediate and lengthy ceasefire."