Afghanistan organizes analogue for Estonian 'Let's Do It!' civil initiative

Photo: Teeme Ära Maailmakoristus

A campaign titled "Let's Do It!", an analogue for an Estonian civil initiative bearing the same name (in Estonian «Teeme ara!»), took place in Afghanistan on Aug. 8 and 9 with 9,200 people participating, including in Kabul where three suicide bombings took place a day earlier.

«On Aug. 7 three suicide bombings took place in Kabul, in which 40 people died and 400 were injured. We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims and hold them in our thoughts,» Arifa Mohamed, contact person of the initiative in Afghanistan, said.

Mohamed stressed that in spite of these terrible events people considered it very important to leave their homes and do something positive for the community. During the action 143 illegal dumpsters were mapped. While this year only 102 tons of garbage was cleared, by 2018 organizers wish to involve all provinces and clean the whole country.

According to Katrin Kurg, a coordinator in the «Let's Do It!» network, it is the first time the Estonian state supports a cleanup action outside Estonia. The initiative in Afghanistan was partially financed by the Estonian Environment Ministry.

According to Mohamed the Afghan society has welcomed the action. «It seems that «Let's Do It!» is an initiative which is able to bring together very different social groups and offers everybody a common part through which to contribute to improving the well-being of the country,» he said.

In Estonia the first litter cleanup day «Let' s  Do It!» took place on May 1, 2008. Nearly 50,000 people then picked up around 10,000 tons of garbage dumped in forests and by the roadside. The effort inspired many countries to follow suit and by now such actions have taken place in over 100 countries around the world.