A dedicated community of Lautoka residents gathered at Saweni Beach to clean up the popular picnic spot over the weekend.
Initiated by the Rotary Club of Lautoka, the campaign garnered support from business houses and expats who have called Fiji home for many years.
Longtime club member Milika Marshall said Saweni Beach had been one of Lautoka City’s most popular picnic spots.
“We are a country that is proud of our beaches but it is sad to see it become so unwelcoming with the amount of rubbish all over the place,” said Ms Marshall.
“From our first discussion about this we had someone already volunteering to pay for a skip bin for a period of three months.
“And then when I told my husband, he offered to pay for the next three months and then our friends at Vuda Marina agreed to pay for another three months.
“So when we had these people offering to pay for a skip to be situated at the beach for nine months, we thought that we should have a beach clean up and not just talk about it.”
She said the campaign drew in groups from business houses, the Lautoka City Council and Tourism Fiji.
“We hope that with this clean up more and more people are inspired to take ownership of their back yard and of these public areas within our community.
“This beach is owned by the people of Lauwaki Village and we hope that they would also join us in keeping this important resource of theirs protected and clean.”