For nearly two years, a group of Japanese cleaners has been quietly tidying up Singapore's parks and streets.
But they are not new recruits to the 70,000 or so cleaners here. They are expats who do so for free, out of love for their temporary, adopted home.
Once a month, up to 15 of these cleaners - who are members of Tokyo-based non-profit environmental group Green Bird - head out in a uniform of matching green vests to tourist spots such as East Coast Park and Little India to spend an afternoon picking up trash.
Being responsible for keeping one's environment clean is a value that is taught to Japanese from a young age, said volunteer coordinator Junko Kurata, who moved here in 2011. She declined to give her age.
Members of Japanese non-profit environmental group Green Bird with bags of rubbish collected after a litter-picking session at East Coast Park.They will be back at the park on Sept 29. -- PHOTO: GREEN BIRD SINGAPORE
But they are not new recruits to the 70,000 or so cleaners here. They are expats who do so for free, out of love for their temporary, adopted home.
Once a month, up to 15 of these cleaners - who are members of Tokyo-based non-profit environmental group Green Bird - head out in a uniform of matching green vests to tourist spots such as East Coast Park and Little India to spend an afternoon picking up trash.
Being responsible for keeping one's environment clean is a value that is taught to Japanese from a young age, said volunteer coordinator Junko Kurata, who moved here in 2011. She declined to give her age.
Members of Japanese non-profit environmental group Green Bird with bags of rubbish collected after a litter-picking session at East Coast Park.They will be back at the park on Sept 29. -- PHOTO: GREEN BIRD SINGAPORE
