<
https://www.asiandispatch.net/volunteers-are-battling-climate-fuelled-disease-at-its-source-bangladesh>
"It is a cloudy, humid September morning near the end of monsoon season in
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the world's most densely populated
cities. Streets normally bustling are quiet as residents of the Uttara
neighbourhood prepare for the weekly prayer.
Suddenly, dozens of young volunteers emerge from the silence, gathering before
heading to the shores of a small nearby lake. There, the stench of rotting
waste hangs heavily in the air, burning the inside of their nostrils and
stifling breaths.
They begin to organise into different teams. Some pick litter off the ground.
Others take a canoe and nets into the stagnant water. They collect plastic
containers, banana peels, and anything else that has pooled in or near the lake
over months and years. Some volunteers even dive into the murky water searching
for waste.
Dhaka is home to almost 37 million people and growing fast. It is expected to
become the world's largest city by 2050. But municipal services have not been
able to keep up with its breakneck growth, making the city one of the world’s
most polluted as well. More than half of its daily trash is not collected.
“All of us young volunteers are working hard to clean [up] and represent our
country to the world,” said Umme Kulsum Siddiki Brishti, a university student,
as she took a break during the Uttara clean up. “We are trying to change
people's mindset.”
Bangladesh Clean, the group that organised the day’s volunteers, is not just a
beautification effort. In a country where more than 2,72,000 premature deaths
are associated with air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation, and lead
exposure annually, it’s an acknowledgment that the stakes are life-or-death."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-payphone-experiment-bridging-political-divides/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
