"A Billion Acts of Green"

230 high school students from Jakarta and Bogor and over half a dozen environmental organizations in Indonesia helped add a few acts to that tally this Earth Day.

Through a massive collaboration between some Indonesian NGOs, a Fulbright English teacher, myself, another ELF, and a lot of other people who are intensely devoted to creating a cleaner, greener Indonesia, we helped a lot of kids get a little dirty.

We joined the students as they slipped off their shoes and slipped into a river flowing through Bogor's beautiful botanical gardens. Together, we pulled out nearly 1,000 kilos of plastic bags, old shoes, bras, pants, and all other manner of trash from the Ciliwung Anak.

These kids were never told to not be a litter bugs. And no one every yelled at them to pick up their trash. More often than not, there was probably no trash can in site to use anyways. Throwing trash on the ground is part of the culture here.

And there are consequences. You can see them everywhere in Jakarta. There isn't a body of water that isn't covered. The people downstream blame the people upstream and vice versa. This program brought kids from both areas together to make them stop pointing fingers and put those digits to better use. I met some many amazing people who are trying to bring awareness and solutions to folks. It was a pleasure to work side-by-side with them.




We incorporated English into the mix by engaging the students in discussions, and we had help. This little lady is a "Water Ambassador." Her public speaking put politicians to shame and put goosebumps on my arms.

Can't wait for next year...