April 21 marked the 2018 Taiwan-St. Lucia Clean-Up Day, a collaborative event arranged by the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Gros Islet Constituency Council to clean up the Gros Islet beach along Bay Street. More than 60 individuals, including Gros Islet parliamentary representative, councilors, local citizens, Taiwanese Embassy staff, and volunteers from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan participated.
The event kicked off with remarks from Taiwan Ambassador Douglas C.T. Shen. He expressed the importance for environmental conservation for island countries such as Taiwan and Saint Lucia. Ambassador Shen said, ”This event is held to commemorate the Earth Day, reminding people to clean up the beach and preserve the natural beauty, which is vital for a marine tourism hotspot like Gros Islet.” He also elaborated the importance of volunteerism and protecting marine species from human waste.
Honourable Lenard Montoute in his address, conveyed his appreciation to the Taiwan Embassy for organizing this meaningful event. He also mentioned the significance of keeping the environment clean for the development of tourism industry, ‘ It is important for each and every one of us to play our part in ensuring that we do what we can to improve our environment and to maintain what we have, because what we have is what we sell.’ He implored that the local community to take pride in their surroundings by participating in today’s activity, and to raise awareness of behaviors that are detrimental to the environment.
Mayor James Edwin of Gros Islet Constituency led local councilors to join the event. He pointed out that initiatives like this would go a long way in sensitizing residents that it is important to keep their surrounding clean, and expressed his desire to continue working with Taiwan Embassy to improve the environmental awareness in local community.
The event was a resounding success. Bags of garbage were collected along the Gros Islet beachfront, which included glass and plastic bottles, bottle caps, plastic bags, Styrofoam boxes, and discarded electronic products. Taiwan Embassy hopes to collaborate with local authority to make this an annual event to commemorate World Earth Day.
Date: 22/04/18
Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) held Taiwan-St. Lucia Clean-Up activity
Participants of Clean-Up activity
