The second phase of the ‘Guyana Shines’ project — the community clean up challenge — was yesterday launched and will see Tucville and Lodge competing over the next two weeks to make their area the cleanest.
US Ambassador, Brent Hardt, said the communities will be working with the common goal of making their environment a cleaner and healthier place to live under the ‘Guyana Shines’ motto ‘Dump it in the bin, everybody can chip in’.
“They will be together in action but they will also be competing for the honour of the cleanest community,” he said, adding that one community will be awarded with a prize at the end of the challenge.
He explained that the contest officially began yesterday and continues through June 18, giving communities two weeks to make as much difference as they can.
The communities will be evaluated by an expert panel of judges, he said, noting that there will four criteria; the general appearance which will be based on photographic evidence, the number of residents who participate in the challenge, plans residents make to raise awareness about littering, and how the communities intend on maintaining their environment over a long period. Each area will account for 25% of the points, Hardt said.
He further stated that the first phase was launched at the St Margaret’s Primary school two weeks ago during which 14 schools were visited. Students were educated about their vital role in overcoming the harmful effects of littering.
“We focused first on schools and young people because we believe that if we are going to create a beautiful environment and learn how to preserve it then we have to start with the young people, the next generation,” the US Ambassador said.
Hardt said that already, the children are deeply committed to the environment and have joined clubs like ECHO, which is doing great work. “We are delighted to see that they are engaged in this effort and we are delighted with the first phase,” he added.
He affirmed that knowledge without action is not enough to make a change, positing that “at the end of the day the goal of Guyana Shines is to build a cleaner Georgetown and a cleaner, more environmentally friendly Guyana and the best way to achieve this beyond education is to foster greater community involvement and civic pride”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor, Patricia Chase-Green welcomed the initiative especially with it coming shortly after persons would have celebrated the changing of the capital city’s name from Stabroek to Georgetown. With this, plans were made to have a one-year restoration project and as such, Chase-Green said she is pleased with this challenge.
