Edited by Abby Gostling, Vasilis GM, Eleftheria M.
People all over our Durham community have been coming together in different ways to celebrate the Earth and help keep it clean during this uncertain time of stay-at-home orders and COVID-19. One Durham middle school student has taken it upon himself to go out and collect trash from his neighborhood every day and is challenging his fellow classmates and members of the Durham community to do the same. Here is the story he shared.
Vasilis is a Greek American middle school teen with a variety of academic interests, involved in sports and diverse hobbies. As part of his school requirements, he engages in volunteer work and since this semester was disrupted by the pandemic, a host of thoughts entered his mind and he came up with the solo cleaning volunteering initiative.
He dedicated this volunteer activity to his grandmother, Eftychia who lives in Greece. She has been in strict quarantine for the past five weeks to protect her health. Vasilis speaks to her online to keep her spirits up and told her that every day that he is walking outside he remembers her and how she had taught him and his brother Christos to do the same thing.
Five years ago, when grandmother Eftychia visited the family in Durham, she would take both boys walking around the Duke Homestead neighborhood by the Tobacco Museum. She would pick up trash as they went because for her, it was a socio-cultural response. Back home in Greece, they clean and wash the outside, front porch and down to the street areas as an extension of cleanliness, and as symbolism that the outdoor areas are communal, thus, as an extension of our civic duties and we are all responsible to keep them clean and make our communities beautiful.
Vasilis and Christos have been walking about their neighborhood with their parents and alone since schools closed, and while doing this, Vasilis had an idea. He wanted to continue his volunteer work for school, and he decided to do this through what he calls, "Spring Trash Hunting". As a matter of fact, he issued a challenge to his school classmates to go out and walk to get a bit of fresh air and at the same time pick up trash in their respective streets at their neighborhoods.
In his call to action, Vasilis writes, “These are difficult and scary times during the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation around us might make us feel vulnerable, confused and scared. I know that I can help by “staying home" to "flatten the curve". But at the same time, I would also like to help in my own small way: to complete one task and change one thing around me each day while following the rules of social distancing. For that reason, I decided when I am walking outside to clean my neighborhood's streets from the trash.
My fellow DNS classmates, you can still find ways to volunteer solo during the state-wide coronavirus quarantine and keep our neighborhoods clean! Let us pick up the trash along the sidewalks and street-curbs around our neighborhoods! I call it "Easter - Spring Trash Hunting". When you are taking your daily walk to catch some fresh air, pick up some trash!”
He is very clear in his message that everyone should continue to respect social distancing guidelines during this activity and that the goal is not to gather in groups but for everyone to do a little part to help on their own.
Vasilis is an inspiring example of how we can still care for our planet and our Durham community during these times and encourage each other to do our part. Hopefully Vasilis’ call to action sparks something in each of us to stop and think, what can I be doing today to make a small impact for my community.
Thank you, Vasilis, for all that you are doing to keep Durham clean and beautiful during this unusual Earth Month!