Feature
Neighbourhood Cleaning Can be Fun
Professor Abdul Mannan
It was hardly five column inch news item published in the third page of the Daily Star of August 10 that caught my attention and took me half a century back. The news titled 'Students join street clean-up campaign.' It carried a photographs captioned 'a student cleans up a street at Dhanmondi in the city yesterday as part of a campaign titled 'Stand up. Clean up' organized by the Centre of Global Issues for Youth.' I am sure parents of many of the participating students were bemused when their sons and daughters disclosed that they will be cleaning the streets of Dhaka tomorrow. How can their 'ladlas' and 'ladlis' who never fetches a glass of water even for themselves can sweep the public streets!! Now going half a century back, when I was just struggling with my math problems in the class our school Prefect of Discipline Brother Dubois announced in every class that on next Sunday the school will be organizing a cleaning day and every student will have to take part in it. Absence on that day will not be tolerated. Those of us who knew Brother Dubois instantly knew he meant business and failure to be present on the announced 'cleaning day' could mean one way ticket to Timbuktu! On the following day during the morning assembly the ever serious Prefect reiterated the cleaning day announcement and ordered every student should on the designated day carry a broom from home. Those who traveled by the school bus did not perceive much of a problem carrying a broom in the bus but those who walked to the school or took the public bus were trying to figure out all sorts of alternatives to bring a broom on the cleaning day.
The cleaning day was a grand success. It was just an unprecedented festival. 2000 strong 'cleaners' cleaned every nook and corner of the school and even some enthusiastic 'cleaners' tried to open few rusty manholes. Only Brother Dubois could persuade them that it should be left to the professionals. Disappointed, they tried to clean the neighborhood. The locals were surprised but soon joined us with full earnest. The 'cleaning day' became an annual event and we would look forward with all eagerness for the day. In the annual prize distribution day that year the school Principal Brother Richard talked about the success of the 'cleaning day.' He explained that the event was organized just to give the students a feeling that there is no shame in doing any sort of work and such things should be learned early in life. The dignity of labour has to be respected echoed our Principal. It was fifty years back. The world has changed and according to the eminent New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman the world has now become flat and human value have changed 360 degrees. Today most upper middle class children are pampered to the extreme. One of my relative very often boasts that he never sends his only son to do grocery shopping even though he is a graduate and is a young man trying to make IT a profession. He never boards a bus or takes a CNG ride, has three house helps to attend to his personal needs. Never has to fetch a glass of water and of course never had to suffer the 'humiliation' of touching a broom, forget cleaning the school or the neighborhood.
As my school was run by the Catholic Missionaries the ethical values and moral standards were very demanding. The class routines were made such that when the Christian boys were attending their religious class the others had to attend 'Moral' class. The Moral class text books contained the 'do's and don't's' of life. It taught us the value of labour, honesty, human dignity, humility, respect for others and the likes. I cannot vouch that everyone took all these things with all seriousness but those did never had to look back in their life.
Today's schools and school children's roles, attitudes and perceptions have changed. Most of them are brought up with the habit of being waited upon. Their same age 'Abduls' carry their bulging heavy school bags, wash their clothes, polish their shoes or tidy their reading tables. In the back old days the kids were trained to do all these by themselves. Whitening the school canvas shoes with a lump of white chalk on weekends was a routine task for every school going kid. We enjoyed doing all this. The recent clean up program organized by the Center for Global Issues for youth deserves all the kudos.
Professor of Business Administration, East West University. mannan@ewubd.edu
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