On December 20th 2017, ELI Africa organized a beach cleanup at Albion due to the rampant problem of waste accumulation on our beaches. Earlier that day, the whole team met at Rose Hill Station and picked the bus for Albion. We reached there at about 10.00 a.m. and we were happy to witness the beautiful lagoon of Albion but also disgusted by the sight of the beach clogged with waste materials.
We divided ourselves into two teams: Cleanup team and Sensitization team. The Cleanup team had fourteen members, and we were further sub-divided. Every group was allocated a specific region of the beach and our volunteers, distinguished by their black ELI Africa T-shirt and rubber gloves, started working and cleaning the beach as from 10.30 a.m. They gathered a large amount of waste: twenty 50L bags. It is a shame that an overwhemingly large number of cans and plastic bags were found on the beach while bins were installed on the location. Our volunteers picked small things such as bottles and even large debris of furniture on the beach.
At ELI Africa, we believe that change is possible by eliminating all possible threats. As such, the Sensitisation team went to talk and explain people at the beach about the dangers of improper waste disposal and its magnifying effects in nature. Our volunteers share the same ideal: the world is a better place by pushing people to do better. The sensitisation team included seventeen members and equipped with ELI’s pamphlets, they tried to convince people to use bins and promote the case for environment.
At 12.30 pm, our volunteers stopped working and we all gathered to have our lunch. We then resumed at 1.30 pm and continued working till 3.00 pm. At the end of the day, we left Albion beach and we were optimist at the sight of a cleaned beach, hoping that Mauritius will remain consistent with this change.