Every weekend, Mr. Noru Ninomiya, 74 years old, along with his compatriots and volunteers, wear gloves and tongs to pick up trash around Sword Lake.
On the morning of June 4, Mr. Ninomiya and about 6 foreigners and Vietnamese volunteers gathered at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square in Sword Lake. After a few minutes of greeting, everyone rolled up their sleeves, put on gloves, walked around the Lakeside, picking up cigarette butts, paper cups, and plastic bottles.
From Japan to Vietnam for work 14 years ago, Mr. Ninomiya was surprised by the serenity of Hanoi capital and especially admired the unique beauty of Sword Lake, but was not happy to witness many littering actions in this place, while there are very few trash cans around.
“If the waste by the lake is reduced, the area will be even more beautiful,” the 74-year-old recalled thinking at the time.
Mr. Noru Ninomiya stood by Sword Lake after a volunteer garbage collection on April 6. Image: Duc Trung
With the desire to "do something to thank Vietnam", he spent his own money to buy paper bags, clips and gloves, calling on 5 compatriots to start picking up trash along Hoan Kiem Lake since 2011. The first day, it was hot like fire, making all 6 people sweaty when completing the work, but everyone felt comfortable.
“Gradually, picking up trash every Sunday morning at Sword Lake has become a weekend routine and has been maintained by us for more than 11 years,” said Mr. Ninomiya, who used to be the general director of a 100% Japanese-owned company in Long Bien. talk to VnExpress.
Knowing Mr. Ninomiya's actions through the media, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, a former meteorologist and environmental expert, joined the group, thinking that "foreigners love the capital and are so conscious, we need to do more".
In August 8, Ms. Phuong supported Mr. Ninomiya to set up a volunteer group Beautifully clean Sword Lake with Ninomiya on Facebook, with a scavenger hunt scheduled at 8 a.m. every Sunday.
There was a period when the group attracted 60 participants, including both Japanese and Vietnamese. Over the past 11 years, regardless of rain or shine, many team members are still present every Sunday morning to help clean up the Lake Bank, only interrupting operations during the complicated development of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Japanese volunteer participates in picking up trash in Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, June 4. Image: Facebook/Phuong Nguyen
Although the group decreased in number of members after the pandemic and many other factors, the inspiration that Mr. Ninomiya brought was constantly spreading.
“Many people passing by saw us picking up trash and excitedly joined in without convincing anyone. Volunteering has to come from a sincere desire,” said Mr. Ninomiya, adding that anyone who wants to collect trash can come without pre-registration and receive the necessary tools.
“I have been involved in this activity for two months. Vietnam changes very quickly, but some people's awareness of environmental sanitation has not kept pace with development. Vietnam and Japan are like two brothers, we want to make a small contribution to the life here,” said Mr. Sahashi Takuya, 65, a senior manager of Mitsubishi in Hanoi, during a trash pick-up session on April 6.
After 30 minutes of collecting by the lake, the volunteers returned to the gathering point with bags full of garbage to conduct sorting. Ms. Phuong collects this sorted garbage at home, rinses it with laundry detergent or vegetable wash, and then dries it.
She will bring them to the Green Life environmental project headquarters in Book Street every last Friday of every month. Green Life will collect and transfer this waste to treatment plants in Thai Nguyen.
"Although the scale of garbage collection is not large and the time is not long, we hope that our activities will help reduce a little waste, make the environment cleaner, can create more jobs for recyclers, and help bring garbage into the circular economy," Phuong said.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, a former meteorologist and environmentalist, stands beside a bicycle carrying garbage collected at Hoan Kiem Lake, April 6. Image: Duc Trung
Ms. Phuong and Mr. Ninomiya said that after more than a decade, the sense of hygiene around Sword Lake has improved significantly, and more trash bins have also been arranged around this area.
“Unfortunately, the amount of garbage we collect has not decreased at all. The important thing is not to pick up the trash, but to not throw it on the street. If you pick it up with your own hands, you will understand that you shouldn't throw garbage indiscriminately," said Mr. Ninomiya.
He has transferred most of the group's activities to Vietnamese volunteers, especially young people, because he believes that the sense of environmental sanitation is a generational story that cannot be changed overnight.
“Japan is clean because children are educated at an early age, in school and at home. The children are taught to maintain hygiene from personal to public places. I hope my work will have an impact on young Vietnamese people,” he said.
Vnexpress.net
