Afroz Shah left his childhood home to study law, once graduated he returned home, shocked by the amount of plastic on his favourite beach he launched a project that changed everything!
In 2015, Afroz Shah returned to Mumbai after studying to be a lawyer. He saw the state of his beloved beach and knew something had to be done.
Shah and his neighbour Harbansh Mathur (84), who has since passed away, couldn’t bear to look at the trash pile that was once the city’s Versova beach. The pair started cleaning up the beach themselves, one piece of rubbish at a time. They went back every single weekend to clean up.
Shah went into the city and started encouraging people to help him. He knocked on doors and approached businesses, educating them about plastic waste and how it was destroying the environment he held so dear as a child.
People started hearing him and joined his cause. It took 61 weeks to clear 80% of the beach where he grew up. He was voted as the UN Champion of the Earth in 2016.
Once the beach was mostly cleared, 80 Olive Ridley Turtles returned and started laying eggs on the clean beach. This was a first in 20 years!
The struggle isn’t over. They still face a massive challenge in educating the public. One great thing is that Shah has been able to educate the poor in India and shown them how to monetise plastic through recycling and other initiatives.
He is now on week 144 of the massive clean-up and has inspired thousands of people around the world to take up their own beach cleans.
Pic 1: What we are doing to our Ocean and beaches
Pic 2: What can be done if you decide put your two hands to good use.
Thank you @AfrozShah1 for doing what you do for last 144 weeks. pic.twitter.com/Pws9uFConS— Ashwin (@ashmal312) July 22, 2018
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