Dear Editor,
I was extremely pleased and happy when I made the turn at the head of Sheriff Street heading
towards the East Coast of Demerara and saw the huge billboard saying “Pick it Up,” sending
the message to keep Guyana clean. This has been long overdue and I think the move to
promote this type of message and create awareness will soon bear fruit.
I usually focus on the news on our local channels and over the past week I noticed various groups of persons, both local and international actually picking up garbage and putting it in garbage bags in support of the ‘Pick It Up’ initiative. I am convinced that this level of awareness will create an impact, and that the current generation will soon adopt the principle of taking care of their environment by being responsible for their garbage. Also, those civic minded Guyanese who have already supported the initiative should not wait on any individual to tell them to share the message, but educate those who are not yet aware of the importance of their environment and how garbage can destroy it in a very short time.
The initiative should not be kept to billboards and short television ads; it needs to be carried out on the ground and should be a continuous programme. I therefore wish to advise the implementers to move to the school network, religious groups, social groups, governmental agencies and private businesses, among the many other groups we have in our country, and let the message be broadcast in every direction.
I want to live to see the day when after the big seawall lime on Sunday, which is now part of Georgetown culture, all the garbage is in the bins rather than all over the ground on Monday morning; when schoolchildren will look for a garbage bin instead of dropping litter; and when our streets in the city will be clean instead of coated with plastics and styrofoam. I just wish to live to see a clean and beautiful Guyana as it used to be.
Yours faithfully,
Saleem Hamid
