STREET cleaners contracted under the Rapid Employment Project (REP) have urged residents to avoid littering of rubbish and other debris in and around the Honiara City.
The cleaners have over the years taken the lead in keeping Honiara City clean and also to provide maintenance and garbage collection in the City.
Street cleaner Blendina Diau said it is a heartbreaking scene to see someone throwing away rubbish in the middle of the streets in Honiara.
“This habit must stop; we need to change our mindset and attitude in how we dispose of our rubbish. It would be very good if the people in town help to support us by throwing away wastes in their proper places and with this we could all keep our city clean and healthy.
“I now urge the good people of Honiara to do the right thing and help keep our city clean,” she said.
Ms Diau has been engaged in this project for more than a year and has seen disposing of wastes as a huge problem in the city.
She said the project has provided employment opportunities for unemployed women to increase their incomes through short term employment and also promote a clean environment to Honiara City.
“I wake up very early every day to make my way down to the city to clean up especially doing sweeping along walkways and each day I see the same rubbish being disposed of carelessly by people.
“This is a very hard work which brings frustration and annoyance to us who have sacrificed every day to do clean up in the city in the mornings and the evenings under this project,” she explained.
The REP aims to provide short term employment and training for the urban unemployed in Honiara.
Ms Diau acknowledged the project in providing her income to support her family and at the same time keep the city clean.
“Since I joined this project, I have helped my family a lot through financial support and have achieved many of my family’s little goals. I have also seen that the huge part of this project is contributing towards keeping our city clean,” she said.
By GEORGE GWAMANI
