Aisha (peace be upon her sacred soul) called the Prophet (peace) A Walking Quran...meaning he practiced what he preached. So for a band of Muslims from across the different organizations to leave their comfort zones and literally hit the trenches was a mini revolution. A revelation of sorts. ISA school children; teachers, professionals; 3 hours; Over 200 bags of garbage collected & picked up immediately by a govt/m&cc vehicle; one brushcutter operating (we should have had at least 4--this being the only hiccup). WOW...what a transformation to the East St. Avenue.
Those overseas can you please make collections via your religious centers and purchase brushcutters for us. Help us to Let Guyana Glitter.
Many persons who drove and walked on by had positive comments to say. To see schoolgirls & women in hijab in a public exercise such as this was a pleasant shock. Walking Qurans indeed!!! Homeowners & business owners were pleasantly surprised by this sudden appearance of angels on a mission of mercy...they pledged to help on the next occasion. May we have Walking Bibles and Walking Vedases joining this GMEI campaign.
There were lots of ideas floated...please send them via email...and a database of Ideas will be created so that we can work on making them a reality.
One teacher said she had reservations in coming out. The sun and itches being her fears. (May God protect us all from contracting diseases). However as she saw the transformation before her eyes her negativity vanished in the pleasant sunshine & breezes.
The children, yep the children, they were enthusiastic...such energy needs to be tapped, for from this a New Guyana will emerge.
Along with cutting the grass & picking up the trash, 4 No Littering Signs were erected.
Thank you all. Please talk about your experience to others and encourage them to join this campaign.
Shamal
http://whispersofkaieteur.blogspot.ca/
ReplyDeleteHappy Mash and make sure no one litters!
Dear Editor
Allow me this opportunity to extend congratulations and best of wishes to all Guyanese on the 43rd anniversary as a Cooperative Republic. This is indeed a proud achievement not only as a democratic apparatus after Independence but to know that only through the inclusive and self help nature as a state can we succeed.
As Black History month comes to a close in February, the famous Imam Cuffy is often mentioned in my presentations as a reminder to the world and Guyanese of all extractions, that his sacrifice in the 1763 revolution benefitted all “in extricating themselves and their generations from the chains of slavery and modern human trafficking”.
While there is much to celebrate in the progress of our beautiful nation of six races; with improved roadways, enhanced schools and booming housing schemes, the environment in Georgetown and the outside villages still remains in the hands of those who have “inherited the massah mentality” to exact a pound of flesh with a gallon of blood for two cents work!
It is laudable to note that our ancestors came from the clean, civilized and literate country of Mali in West Africa, so in the news these days, that boasted of Timbuktu, the city of 120,000 books and 100’s of schools in the 14th century. Today, unlike them, we have found ourselves outdoing each other in littering, instead of liberating; the very places we call home and expect others to take care of it.
I remember the days of the former President, the late Forbes Burnham, where every Guyanese was responsible to clean up their environs and plant their gardens while enforcing their neighbor does the same, in the name of “self help”. That cooperative nature of our Republic calls for such civic pluralism engagement, where not only the Muslims for the Environment organization in Georgetown, http://guymei.blogspot.com/ driven by Shamal Zamaludin, is active but every faith and political leader needs to adopt this challenge sooner than later. Isn’t cleanliness is next to Godliness? Isn’t cleanliness half of Faith? Isn’t a clean country attracts investors?
The very first civic action the Prophet of lslam, on whom be peace, undertook, upon his arrival in his newly adopted homestead of Madina, was to clean the wells and streets from pollution and ensure clean water was running in the orchards and public streams.
Happy Mash and make sure no one litters!
Yours truly,
Habeeb Alli
Toronto