Suak Ribee: A Potentially Perfect Beach

By Pepen, UNDP
Standing on Suak Ribee’s sandy beaches and watching the sun slowly set over the Indian Ocean is a near perfect image. The radiant colors in the sky, the waves crashing onto shore, the … empty Aqua bottles, cigarette butts and torn plastic bags? Suak Ribee should be a perfect image. Sadly, the scattered waste disrupts this postcard scene.

“We cannot really enjoy the beach because it’s too dirty,” complain some expatriates who regularly come to Suak Ribee and are disappointed by the increasing amount of rubbish. In response, Thomas (French Red Cross) and I determined something must be done. After much discussion we decided to initiate regular beach cleanups.

February 17th at Suak Ribee marked the first ever Meulaboh beach cleanup. Together, 35 volunteers –both locals and visitors—spent the late afternoon patiently picking up garbage and disposing of it in the rubbish bins donated by French Red Cross.

By coming together to clean the beach we hoped to let others know that we are concerned about the beach’s condition. We wanted to stress the importance of sanitation. This wasn’t just a message for the communities living along the beach, but for the regular visitors who are also adding to the increasing amount of rubbish at Suak Ribee.

Members of Caritas Switzerland and Spanish Red Cross were amongst those who gladly pitched in and filled their bags with non-organic waste. “This is a very good activity to show the people how to properly dispose of waste,” said Claudius (Caritas Switzerland).
An hour into the cleanup curious restaurant owners grabbed garbage bags and joined the volunteers in helping to clear the beach of waste. “We are very happy to see the beach is clean, and starting today we will begin putting non-organic waste into the rubbish bins,” said the owner of Café Sunset, whose coconut cafe previously did not have rubbish bins.

Satisfied with their hard work, the beach cleanup crew relaxed with a coconut, watched a beach volleyball game, and looked around the clean beach, proud of their afternoon’s efforts. And as the sun began to set, the cleanup crew joyfully witnessed two beach visitors walk to the rubbish bins to throw away their cigarette box. That’s exactly what the cleanup crew was hoping for – encouraging the community to care about their potentially perfect beach.

Please continue checking this blog for the next beach clean-up location to be announced.