Car seats, an old tire, and mountains of household rubbish were among the debris collected by participants in the Governor General’s Youth Award this past weekend at Yamacraw Beach.
The 25-year-old youth organization was able to gather its forces for an impressive turn-out to the International Coastal Cleanup event held Saturday (September 15). A global effort, last year the international event included 598,076 volunteers around the world. Collectively, they picked up more than nine million pounds of trash.
Aside from a 200-strong GGYA presence, this weekend’s four-hour Yamacraw Beach cleanup attracted volunteers from key social, civic, and youth organizations, in addition to residents of the constituency.
GGYA participants from Queen’s College, Temple Christian, St. Augustine’s College and C.V. Bethel, amongst other high schools, began assembling at the beach around 8am. Eager and energized to get the work done, they helped to transform the polluted space to a “clean, green and more pristine” environment.
“I love it,” said Sabrina Hanna, a 15-year-old, twelfth grader at C.V. Bethel. “It gets me out of the house.” For hours Hanna worked alongside friends, Ashley Johnson,15, and Bernell Carey, 17, toting garbage bags and dragging out stray bits of rubbish.
“Today’s event was a good one,” says Carey, echoing her friend’s sentiments. “I’m very glad to see other members of the community came out to help.”
Although exhausted, eleventh grader Calvaughn Brown found the day rewarding.
“Today’s event was a nice outing,” said the Temple Christian student. “I had a good time and I made a lot of new friends.”
GGYA leader, 24-year-old Christopher Mackey, was proud of the group’s accomplishment.
“The GGYA participants were to say the least, amazing,” said the 24-year-old, who’s serving a second year stint as a unit leader. “The clean-up was something that both helped the environment and encouraged new bonds and friendships. It was enjoyable. We were asked to lend a helping hand and that’s what we did.”
GGYA participants in Grand Bahama also got in on the act. Youths from Catholic High, Sunland Baptist High School, Lucayan International School and St. George’s removed trash from Taino Beach.
As it celebrates its Silver Jubilee the GGYA programme is stronger than ever due to a three-year partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture. Titled the G.O.L.D. Initiative, the partnership provides vital financial and marketing resources to the GGYA.
The GGYA has 2,000 participants across The Bahamas. Units are located on New Providence, Acklins, Abaco, Cat Island, Crooked Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama and Long Island.
By Precision Media for The Bahamas News on BahamasB2B.com
Caption: Scenes from the International Coastal Cleanup carried out at Yamacraw Beach on Saturday, September 15. The GGYA came out in full force to aid in the global cleanup initiative. Photos courtesy of Precision Media
