Beautiful Sri Lanka?

Some of my earliest memories of Sri Lanka revolve around the last few minutes of the 24 hour flight to this lovely island from the States. Those exciting moments where you know your about to land because the stewardesses are running around collecting headphones and the fasten seatbelt sign lights up. You are also asked to put up all of your windows and everyone leans to get a sky view of their destination. I remember looking down as we circled over the airport thinking "wow look at all that greenery!"

It's only after you land that you get up close and personal with all of the trash on the side of the road, the mosquitoes and flies buzzing everywhere and the stench of hot cow dung laying nearby. The sad thing is is that you will probably run across atleast one of the above mentioned in five minute intervals wherever you are in Colombo.

When IIFA came to Colombo the roads from the airport to the hotels and then to the pavilion were SPOTLESS! I mean there were garbage collectors on every block, shops nearby were asked to repaint their buildings and there wasn't a single pothole the entire way... And as soon as IIFA left so the the maintenance of the roads. Let's not even mention the renovations they tried to implement for the ICC World Cup!

Garbage dumps in residential areas, litter floating in the waterways, trash flung out of vehicles and scattered on the sidewalks... And then we wonder why we can't control the dengue situation in the country.

Dont wait for the government to clean your mess. Do it yourself - Every little thing counts - pick up trash on the road even if it isn't yours. Don't throw stuff out on to the sidewalk. Recycle. Join clean up groups that make your beaches and parks cleaner and safer. Do your part to preserve your country.

One small step is all you need to make a huge footprint on the environment.

                                                  Photo taken from www.globalenvision.org