Cleanup Campaign #Zimbabwe
IAYSP Zimbabwe started a daily cleanup campaign from January 15 – 31, 2020 – across twelve days: January 15 – 17, 19 – 24, 27, 28, and 31. The project was designed to promote the consciousness of maintaining a beautiful environment through service activities centered on responsible public-mindedness.
The “broken windows theory” was applied – a criminological theory introduced by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling – that explains, “If a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken.” This denotes that one broken window is a signal that there is no one who genuinely cares for the building.
In a similar situation, when litter is irresponsibly disposed of on the ground, onlookers perceive this action as something they can also reciprocate and will resultantly throw their litter there too. On the contrary, ensuring that buildings are well maintained and grounds kept clean actualizes an untainted atmosphere where daily undertakings can be set in order and well managed; preventing social crime.
The cleanup campaign continued almost every day for two weeks. Volunteers donned YSP t-shirts to emphasize to the community that there are people who care about and will take responsibility for the environment.
Promotion through the YSP Facebook page was also utilized. By showing pictures of the project and writing articles explaining how litter – when disposed of irresponsibly – denigrates a community, this service activity spread positive news and helped change the attitudes of Zimbabwean youth.
