The atmosphere of Manado Beach located on Boulevard 2, Tuminting, does not appear as usual. The beauty was marred by a massive amount of trash. Hence, several students, teachers, and the committee of Manado Independent School brought plastic bags and sacks to clean up the trash along the beach area on Sunday, February 26, 2023. This campaign is an environmental concern driven by the MIS Science Club, which consists of several elementary, middle, and high school students in their “Beach Clean-up” program.
Among the participants in this activity was the head of Garbage and B3 Waste Management, Mrs. M. Lieke Kembuan, S, Sos, Aj.Ak together with the secretary of Manado City Environment Service, Mr. Steven E. Tairas, ST, M.Si. They were so grateful and greatly appreciative of this program of the MIS Science Club to improve the environment in some areas of Manado. “We greatly appreciate all the students who participated in the beach clean-up yesterday. They are so passionate about caring for the environment and eager to learn about sorting waste according to the 3R principles. We hope that this activity will continue and that by minimizing and cleaning trash, the spirit of protecting and loving the earth will be instilled in their minds. The school must continue to educate students in waste management that is in line with this year’s themes: “National Waste Awareness Day (HPSN)” and “Complete Waste Management for Community Welfare.” “Zero Waste, Zero Emotion Indonesia,” Lieke Kembuan stated.
Furthermore, Mr. Steven Tairas acknowledged MIS as one of the pioneering schools to support cleanliness and make Manado City beautiful. “It is very positive because the local government is working hard to make Manado a waste-free city, hence, this kind of program supports the vision and mission of the mayor and the vice mayor in terms of the beauty and cleanliness of this city,” Mr. Steven Tairas said.
Meanwhile, Claire Muljanto, president of the high school Science Club, said that “as God’s creation, our main duty is to protect and care for our environment together, therefore, a beach clean-up program is an excellent way to fulfill it. The objectives of this activity are to maintain the beauty and protect the environment, especially the beaches and the ocean; to protect land and sea animals and their habitats; to protect the livelihood of the people, especially the farmers, and fishermen.”
The program began with a brief prayer, which was followed by an announcement before the clean-up proceeded. Claire admitted that the beach on Boulevard was extremely filthy when they arrived. There was trash all over the place. It was a disgusting sight to behold.
Well, according to Dr. Joppi Rondonuwu, Ph.D., the Chairman of the MIS School Board, “This activity is a community service program. Service learning is a voluntary co-curricular activity specially designed for students to learn how to serve others in the community by connecting their learning in school with real-world experiences. As prescribed in the curriculum, the students in the Science and Health Club went down to earth by picking up a huge amount of garbage at a certain area in Manado.”Moreover, Dr. Joppi was amazed to see the students, who come from wealthy and prominent families, participate without hesitation or complaint. These students willingly and enthusiastically cleaned and put the garbage into their big garbage bags until all were filled. When the garbage collector finished collecting the waste to dump in the designated area, he could see the smiles and laughter of the students, who felt fulfilled and proud of their accomplishment. Dr. Joppi was also thankful to some parents and local government officials who supported the program and made it even more successful. “It was indeed an enjoyable and fulfilling experience to learn how to serve the nation in the real world!” Dr. Joppi commented with a big smile.
