Ngô Đức Mạnh
In October 2008, Tohru Ninomiya came to Việt Nam for the first time and worked for a rubber manufacturing company.
He was pleasantly surprised by the peacefulness of the capital Hà Nội and especially admired the unique beauty of Hoan Kiem Lake, but was unhappy to witness many people littering, and there were very few rubbish bins around.
"If the litter around the lake was reduced, this area would be even more beautiful," the 76-year-old man thought at the time.
In March 2011, he used his own money to buy paper bags, clips and gloves and invited five colleagues to start picking up rubbish at Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Square, Hoàn Kiếm Lake. At that time, this activity was maintained every two weeks and then moved to every Sunday morning from September 2012.
Come rain or shine
His beautiful actions spread and inspired many environmentalists in Hanoi, who started joining his activities. One of them is Nguyễn Thị Minh Phương, a retired meteorologist.
She said: "If foreigners love Hanoi and spend their own money and effort to pick up rubbish, then we must be more dedicated than that."
According to Phương, to call on everyone to protect the environment and honour all volunteers, she created a Facebook page "Cleaning Hoàn Kiếm Lake with Ninomiya" to post the group's trash collection activities, both to preserve the images and to spread the activities further.
Each rubbish collection session lasts 30 minutes, with an average of 20 members, and at peak times, the number increases to 50-60, including Vietnamese and members from many different countries.
The tools are placed neatly on the ground so that anyone can participate, from children, students and parents to workers, the elderly, and experts.
Biodegradable bags and gloves are prepared to ensure health safety for participants. Photos courtesy of the group
Inspired by the group’s activities, many passers-by joined and even donated to the cause.
Spread a message
Some people wonder why the volunteer group only collects rubbish for 30 minutes each session, thinking that these activities are just "a drop in the ocean" or "a waste of time".
At first, Ninomiya felt a bit sad, but according to him, "30 minutes is enough and reasonable to maintain a long-term movement".
"If the activity lasts longer, the members will get tired, especially on hot summer days, and easily lose their enthusiasm", the Japanese man explained.
Understanding what is "enough and reasonable", Ninomiya's project has attracted the attention of everyone, gradually expanding its scope of influence, and having a significant impact on people's awareness.
"Although the scale of garbage collection is not large, and the time is not long, we hope that our activities will help reduce some garbage, make the environment cleaner, create more jobs for recyclers and help bring garbage into the circular economy," Phương said.
Many families bring their children to the group activity.
Mottainai is a Japanese phrase conveying a sense of regret over waste, or stating that one does not deserve something because it is too good. The term can be translated to English as "What a waste!" or the old saying, "Waste not, want not."
Adhering to this philosophy, Ninomiya, who no longer lives in Việt Nam and has retired home to Japan, believes that educating children is the core of forming environmental awareness.
In particular, families and schools are the ones who guide children to form daily trash-picking activities.
"I hope that in five to 10 years, everyone will have the habit of picking up trash together," he said.
For a better future
Ninomiya did not know how long he could stay in Vietnam, so he transferred most of the group's activities to Vietnamese volunteers. He said he had fulfilled his mission as the initiator and leader, hoping that the next generation would inherit and expand the project.
He returned to Japan in April 2024 to take care of his health issues, but he is hopeful he can return whenever possible.
Ninomiya joined the group for one last time before his flight. Photo courtesy of the group.
After 10 years, Ninomiya and Phương noticed that the awareness of hygiene around Hoan Kiem Lake has improved significantly, with many trash bins placed by the local government around the area.
According to Phương, the group's persistence and perseverance have contributed to changing people's awareness, making them realise that behind every stone bench around Hoan Kiem Lake lies a landfill that can be filled with a paper bag. - VNS
OVietnam