SHARJAH // More than 100 youngsters rolled up their sleeves on Monday to help collect litter and other rubbish from Al Mamzar beach.
Pupils aged nine to 12 from Sharjah schools weighed in to clean 2km of shoreline as part of the “Because We Care” initiative, along with volunteers from Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority, or Sewa, Sharjah Police and Sharjah Aquarium.
“I’m helping today in cleaning this beautiful beach because a few months ago we came and cleaned up the other side,” said Rashid Mohammed, 10.
The fifth grader at Al Kahlidiya School said he had taught his family the importance of not leaving rubbish at the beach.
All of the items collected were taken to the Bee’ah waste management facility to be weighed and recycled.
Al Khan resident Amina Ahmad regularly visits the beach with her two-year-old son, Hasan, and said she worried about letting him play unattended because of the rubbish.
“Last week I was readying a milk bottle for my boy. When I turned and looked back at him he had a cigarette butt in his mouth,” said the 24-year-old. “There is a garbage bin every 100 metres, why can’t people use them instead of leaving litter on the sand?”
The fifth annual beach clean-up aimed to highlight the importance of protecting the marine environment, a particular passion for diver Ahmad Ramadan.
“I have participated in every beach clean-up,” said the Egyptian, who has worked as a diver for 13 years.
“It is important to raise awareness of the dangers of throwing items in the sea. The waste we find in the sea hurts marine life. It also represents dangers to the divers while doing their job.” As divers collected waste from the water, assisted by a police boat and a crane lifting heavy objects out of the sea, the pupils watched while taking part in a recycling workshop.
Aisha Alhashimi, principal of Al Khalidiya School, said it was important for the pupils to participate in the exercise. “It helps them to understand, at a young age, the importance of keeping the environment clean.”
To make the event more fun, a contest was set for the pupil who could collect the most rubbish.
“Me and my friends from school are helping in keeping our emirate clean,” said 10-year-old Mahmoud Ibrahim, clad in gloves and carrying a large bin bag filled with rubbish.
“We have a contest going to see who collects more.”
The Because We Care initiative has held more than 200 clean-up events since launching in 2009 to promote responsible citizenship.
tzriqat@thenational.ae