Bali’s pristine beaches have been a tourist favourite for ages. However, the island was once laced with tonnes of plastic trash. That is until two school-going sisters decided to tackle the plastic pollution in their island.
Inspired by great people
Melati and Isabel Wijsen are sisters born and raised in Bali, Indonesia.
In 2013, when Melati was 12 and Isabel was 10, the sisters learnt about world leaders and change-makers such as Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana and Martin Luther King, in school. After this, the sisters were inspired to do their own bit to change the world into a better place.
They went home and researched on problems in Bali, and decided to focus on the problem of garbage, especially plastic bags that clogged the gutters and piled up on the beach and in rivers.
The sisters, determined to make their island plastic-free, founded a non-governmental organization called Bye Bye Plastic Bags the same year.
Indonesia-the plastic polluter
When the girls founded the Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Indonesia was the second largest plastic polluter in the world after China. It accounted for 10% of the world’s marine plastic pollution.
The Indonesian government had also pledged to invest USD one billion in reducing marine waste by 70% by 2025, as part of the United Nations Clean Seas programme.
Making an impact
After founding their organization, the sisters discussed their ideas in their class and began beach clean-ups and presentations at schools to enlighten local kids about the state of garbage in their country. The girls were instrumental in organizing Bali’s biggest beach clean-up, which witnessed close to 12,000 volunteers!
The sisters also started a pilot programme in a small village called Pererenan in Bali, educating the locals about plastic and its harmful effects on the planet. Soon, they began travelling to different countries to give talks on the subject.
However, their efforts weren’t enough to evoke the interest of the local government. To get its attention, the sisters decided to start a petition to get one lakh signatories. Their petition received tremendous response from people but the local governor still didn’t meet them,
Frustrated, the sisters decided to go on a hunger strike, inspired by a trip to India and a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s house. And, 24 hours after they started their hunger strike, the governor met them and signed a memorandum of understanding with them to help the people of Bali say no to plastic bags.
Today, the girls continue their efforts to fight plastic pollution and have been named by the Forbes magazine as one among the top inspiring women in Indonesia.
What makes them special?
The sisters identified the problem of plastic pollution in their island and took measures to tackle it. Despite being ignored by the local governor for months, the sisters preserved and finally got the governor to sign a memorandum of understanding.
Picture Credit : Google