Bago River Awareness Raising started gathering tons of audiences

Public awareness and inclusiveness of local community are the characteristics of improvement signatures in building sustainable development. Besides, it is uneasy to make local people attractive to participate in one campaign. I reached out one of the public awareness campaigns organized by Forest Department Bago Region, Embassy of Norway and The Norwegian Institution for Water Research (NIVA). This is one of the crucial moments of Integrated Bago River Basin Management to show why Bago River needs protection together by surrounding people. 

On 25th of November, Bago River Awareness Raising campaign started and many local people wearing white shirts and holding the banners tried to describe discipline, a key essence in altering the country and to remove the waste systematically. People from Government Organization and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and even more, primary, middle and high school students also joined the campaign together with their guardians to show the future prospect of Bago River. 

The activities started at 7 am in the morning, early birds were moving full of energy alongside of the river. Trash pickers, grabbers, brooms and gloves were handed over, people walked on the riverbanks and picked up, collected, piled the trashes. Most of the trashes are plastic bottles, plastic bags, food wrappers, plastic utensils, liquid waste and hazardous waste. 

After the waste collection, water experts, environmentalists, and land and water managers from government and international organization gave basic education and awareness to the people why they need to preserve the Bago River, why wetlands and water are important for human beings, why electrical and electronic waste are hazardous and how wastes are needed to be compiled in dedicated place.