Youth Brigade Cleans Up Polluted Canals and Streams

Young Volunteers Overcome Polluted Waterways in Saigon

Despite the thick layers of foul-smelling black water, teeming with everything from styrofoam containers and plastic bags to animal carcasses and broken glass, the determination of the Saigon Green Team remains unshaken.

These enthusiastic young people, barely in their 20s, have banded together to wade through the mud and clean up waste from several polluted canals and waterways across Ho Chi Minh City. Their mission is to “revive” the green streams for a greener, cleaner, and more beautiful city.

Hope Canal in Tan Binh District of Ho Chi Minh City, engulfed in garbage layers so thick that one can easily walk across, poses a significant challenge to these determined environmentalists.

Nguyen Luong Ngoc (also known as Shin, 27), the team leader, shares, “Our members are mostly students, ride-share drivers, freelancers, and real estate employees, all over 20 years old. They are energetic, cheerful, enthusiastic, and unafraid of hardships. We were inspired to form the Saigon Green Team by the Padawara group in Indonesia, who work on similar initiatives.”

Starting with just two members over six months ago, the team now includes ten core members and over 200 volunteers. The cleanup activities take place early in the morning on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, with all available members participating.

To quickly and efficiently complete the tasks, the team is well-coordinated: two members rake the trash, two scoop it up, and three others haul it to the designated collection areas.

Remarkable Achievements and Recognition

After seven hours of dedicated effort, the Saigon Green Team successfully collected over 10 tons of trash from a spot on Hope Canal, significantly improving the water flow.

On February 8, 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union honored the Saigon Green Team with a certificate of appreciation. This recognition was to encourage the team’s relentless efforts in cleaning up the city’s polluted waterways.

(Source: Thanh Niên Newspaper)