Newsletter for the Rotary Club of Western Endeavour - Issue No.: 405 Issue Date: 5 Sep, 2010

Well here we have someone with a considerable amount of energy and devotion making a difference in India.

Isn't it amazing what a few people with committment can do.  Remco took on this project thinking "I can do this" and now he spends his time encouraging others to think the same way.  His motto is "Don't wait for someone else to do it... Just get out there and get the job done"

So what has this done in India... Well if you take a look at the My Clean India and My Clean School web site you will see.  Remco's work has been a catalyst for the local community, as they learn to take pride in their country and how they can act to make a difference.

Remco is keen to see if this same approach can be used in our aboriginal communities many of which suffer from the same problems.  He already has one interested aboriginal leader whom he would like to take to India to show him the progress that is being made.  Remco is looking for sponsorship from Rotary to assist.

Remco is also looking for a Rotary Club in Perth to develop a relationship with a Rotary Club in Chennai to stimulate the interchange of ideas.

Part of the problem is history... the background of a native people who have for centuries been used to using biodegradable products in a non-urban lifestyle.  These days with plastics and products which take a long time if ever to degrade the litter becomes atrocious.

When Alma and I were in Cambodia we could see the problem in the village we visited where icecreams were being sold in plastic wrappers and the kids would just eat the icecream and then throw the wrapper nn the ground just as they would a banana skin.  Now extend this to car batteries, motor bikes, tyres, steel implements for cooking and agriculture, plastic piping and so on and we have a growing mess.   Consider also a population density of 10 times that in Australia and now consider the immensity of the problem.

Part of the issue too is that it is "cool" to use the latest and greatest gadgets from the west rather than make the more traditional stuff made in the village which is just boring... sound a bit like your own teenagers?  Well that is what is happening out there and our businesses are thriiving on this attitude but the problem is growing too...

Well Remco... to you and your wife a very grateful thank you from us and no doubt from the people of India...