Working Together for a Cleaner Coast: World Cleanup Day
On September 17, 2022, World Cleanup Day was celebrated in Sudan's Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of Mohamed Qol and Dungonab. This event was organized by the Sudanese Development Initiative (SUDIA) in partnership with local authorities, including Gabeit Al Maadin locality and the Wildlife Conservation General Administration (WCGA), alongside local committees from the two villages. World Cleanup Day is a significant global civic movement initiated by a worldwide organization called Let's Do It World (LDIW), bringing together volunteers and partners to clean communities, neighborhoods, and cities.
In preparation for the event, local committees in Dungonab and Mohamed Qol collaborated closely with the SUDIA team. They demonstrated enthusiasm and awareness of their community needs while ensuring equal representation of genders in participation. Each committee selected four volunteers—two males and two females—and determined logistics such as collection points, registration processes, assembly locations, and an incentive system that rewarded participants for collecting waste. Each participant was required to register and received an empty waste bag numbered for tracking.
The cleanup event began at 9 AM, with residents, including men, women, and children, gathering at the women's center in each village. By 3 PM, the combined effort resulted in the collection of approximately 100 bags of waste—50 bags from each village, weighing a total of approximately 300 Kgs. To celebrate this achievement, participants received prizes, and appreciation was expressed by the organizing committee and the SUDIA team. The closing ceremony in Mohamed Qol featured speeches from local leaders, including the director-general of Gabeit Al Maadin locality, the head of the local committee, Mohamed Sharif, and SUDIA’s managing director, Abdelrahman Elmahdi. The event concluded with the distribution of prizes and refreshments.
Overall, the cleanup campaign was a resounding success, highlighting the strong leadership and organizational skills of our local committees, as well as active community involvement. This initiative not only served to enhance environmental conditions but also fostered greater social awareness and consciousness among residents of the two villages.