Three generations of Egyptian family clean up the Nile

Reuters Videos
1 年前

STORY: Three generations of this family are cleaning up the Nile River

Location: Giza, Egypt

Grandfather Mohamed Nassar is a fisherman who collects garbage thrown into the river

His niece, Hayam Mohamed, uses discarded plastic to make recyclable bags

while her son Yahya rows the boat and compresses collected plastic

(Mohamed Nassar, Fisherman)

"Isn't it our country? Isn't it our Nile? Our livelihoods are from it. If me and everyone else neglected it, we won't be able to throw our nets in the water. The nets we work with are soft, rubbish can easily tear them apart. I'm always reassured while fishing because I've cleaned the Nile."

Nassar sells the collected waste to the VeryNile initiative

In 2020, the initiative also launched a workshop to recycle plastic waste

to provide job opportunities to local women, such as Hayam

(Hayam Mohamed, VeryNile initiative)

"It makes me happy because I clean the Nile, so it looks clean and gives a good image in front of tourists. It is a nice view instead of having plastic bags thrown in the Nile. Instead of throwing plastic bags in the streets or the Nile, you can donate them to the clothing bank for example and you create something meaningful out of it, you also produce something that's Egyptian-made. As I understand, these products are exported, which is good."