(VOVWORLD) - In the early morning, when it’s still cold and dewy, young members of the Sai Gon Xanh group wade through the black-water canal to remove trash and clear the flow.
 Sai Gon Xanh's young volunteers clean a polluted canal in Ho Chi Minh City. (photo: Ty Huynh/VOV) |
“I’ve joined the Sai Gon Xanh group for nearly a year. Many rivers and canals in HCM City are polluted. I want to contribute my part, together with others, to making the city greener, cleaner, and more beautiful, and protect everyone's health,” a Sai Gon Xanh member said.
“I didn’t realize that there are many polluted canals in HCM City until I joined the Sai Gon Xanh group. Many of them are seriously polluted and we have to clean from morning until late evening.”
The volunteer cleaners wear waterproof protective gears and gloves and wade in to the canals to clear bushes, collect trash, and upload the trash on the banks.
 Sai Gon Xanh group has collected 3,000 tons of garbage in canals in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: Ty Huynh/ VOV) |
Over the past 2 years, Sai Gon Xanh has become familiar to environmental activists and people living along canals and rivers in Ho Chi Minh City. The group’s members, aged between 20 and 30, have various jobs such as office staff and e-hailing drivers but all want to clean canals and make the city green. Twice in a week, they go to polluted canals to clear trash.
Nguyen Luong Ngoc, Head of the Sai Gon Xanh group, said: “After two years, Saigon Xanh now has gathered over 2,000 volunteers, who have involved in about 300 activities and collected 3,000 tons of garbage in canals. We clean canals on every Thursday and Sunday. On Saturdays, we fan out to decorate the streets and clear advertisements on walls. Our members get free vaccinations for tetanus, typhoid, cholera, flu, and hepatitis B and are provided with waterproof protective gear and cut-resistant gloves.”
Sai Gon Xanh members cannot remember how many canals they have cleaned in Ho Chi Minh City. There are some canals that they have to return to collect trash every month, like Rach Lang canal in Binh Thanh district, one of the most polluted canals in Ho Chi Minh City.
Volunteer Ba Ha Bang said: “We have to clean trash on Rach Lang every month. We hope that one day Rach Lang will be clear of trash.”
 Anti-debris buoys are installed on rivers and canals. (Photo: Ty Huynh/ VOV) |
The ongoing efforts of Sai Gon Xanh have inspired many young volunteers and local residents to join in cleaning the rivers and surrounding areas.
“Although they are not local people, they come here to voluntarily do this work. I highly appreciate their responsibility and dedication. They go down into the canal to collect trash, clear the flow, and remove shrubs.”
“I highly appreciate the work of the Sai Gon Xanh members. Their work makes some people realize their bad habit of littering. People will mind their behaviors to protect the environment.”
Data collected from at anti-debris buoys show that the amount of canal garbage has decreased 20-30%. It shows that people are paying more attention to environmental protection and management of household and personal waste.
Nguyen Luong Ngoc, Head of the Sai Gon Xanh group, said: “Sai Gon Xanh aims to eliminate garbage in canals, but also to sustainably change people’s awareness. It’s the way to solve the problem of littering. We have implemented several projects such as installing trash barriers and collectors and dumping microorganisms into canals to improve the water quality and reduce smell. Our project will prevent garbage from flowing into the Sai Gon river and the sea.”
Saigon Xanh’s activities have strongly inspired environmentalists across the country, leading to the establishment of many environmental groups such as Binh Duong Xanh, Bien Hoa Xanh, Da Nang Xanh, and Nghe An Xanh.