Cadi Duncan, TESS 134
At the start of each semester, a gaggle of community members donning their most tattered work clothes and biggest hats assemble at my school ready to accomplish the (nearly) impossible: the Big Cleanup.
As one can imagine, the Big Cleanup is the day the grounds of the school are groomed. The “Big” part of “Big Cleanup” rang true – it was an immense job that took hours to complete. During school break there was no lawn maintenance or trimming of the bushes, so the jungly plants crept into every cozy spot they could find. The piles and piles of trash from summertime pick-up soccer games yielded every type of garbage imaginable and it was spread across the entire school plot.
I knew we had our work cut out for us, so I was relieved when I saw community members bringing their own rakes, hoes, scythes, weed-eaters, and brooms of all shapes and sizes. They understood the task ahead of them and were prepared to reclaim the land.
Many of these community members were the parents or, more likely, the grandparents of my students. It appeared that many of them had participated in the Big Cleanup before and needed no instructions. While I saw lots of familiar faces, I also met several new community members whose children had long since graduated from my primary school. It occurred to me that these people didn’t care that their children had moved on – the school was part of the village and it needed to be maintained. The school is such an integral part of the community that there was no question as to whether they would participate. The heat was oppressive, but the feeling of unity and community pride was strong.
We started off easily by pulling weeds and picking up trash, and then the real fun began. The older women, who were clothed from head to ankle (they wore flip flops), began swinging their scythes to cut down the waist-high weeds. It was an incredible sight to see – the methodical slashing and bending to clear a path was hypnotizing to watch. When the scythe-wielding women got tired, there was an unspoken rotation of other women poised for their scythe shift. Everyone had their role and every role was important for the success of the Big Cleanup.
Nearly all of the tasks were completed by the end of the day with multiple sheds organized and all the grass at an acceptable height. While there are still two huge trash piles to be burned, the school grounds look incredibly tidy. I think I did my fair share of work, but I was depleted by hour two and moved into the water distributor role. In my new job I greatly enjoyed observing the teamwork and overall camaraderie from everyone who pitched in for this labor-intensive task. I was struck by the villagers’ attitude of “this is just what you do”. They systematically cleaned, cut, and trimmed nearly all of the school grounds with only one complaint – it was scorching.
I believe that the community members know that the school is the heartbeat of the village and that its bi-yearly grooming is necessary for its overall longevity. I understand that the participants are passionate and proud of their school – qualities that I greatly respect and admire. I hope to find a future home that has the same type of people as those in my village – people who volunteer their time to ensure the place where their children learn is safe and tidy. Until then, I am looking forward to participating and learning more lessons at my last Big Cleanup in November.
Sticky Rice 
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