Jeanine cleans up Westbury
WESTBURY – Miss Earth finalist, Jeanine Keet, sets out to clean the streets of her community.
In a community marred by gang-related violence, rays of hope come as a breath of fresh air.
Top 16 Miss Earth national finalist, Jeanine Keet, is one such ray of hope. On 20 August, Keet rounded up members of her community to clean up her beloved neighbourhood of Westbury.
On a glorious warm morning, residents along with Pikitup, who donated 200 refuse bags and 100 gloves, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), who also donated 400 refuse bags and 200 gloves set out to make vacant land between Dowling and Hamilton Street cleaner.
The theme for Miss Earth this year is ‘Waste stops with me’ and so it made sense to affect change in the area she grew up in. “At first glance, when you looked at the space, it looked okay, but the more you cleaned up the more you saw it was really dirty,” said Keet.
“The community needs to be educated about waste, in all its forms,” explained Keet. She added that it is the little things we do that will affect positive change to the environment especially when there is a common goal. She lamented that people seldom recycle and throw all of their rubbish away in one bin.
On the day, all those who helped clean up were kitted with gloves, masks, and several refuse bags for the different types of rubbish. “They were all given refuse bags for glass, paper, and plastic and another for ordinary waste,” explained Keet.
Through this separation, Keet hoped that children would learn that waste is not just waste but a resource too. “They need to see the value in certain things like a cool pencil holder can be made from a tin can,” said Keet.
“You as an individual need to start making the difference, once we become cognisant of what we are doing and responsible for our actions, that is when we will start to see the change we are constantly longing for,” expressed Keet.
Northcliff Melville Times
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