In secondary school, I was appointed the sanitary prefect, a role many didn’t value at the time. To some, it was just about checking uniforms, hair, and ensuring the school looked presentable during morning assembly. But to me, it meant much more than that. It was my first real introduction to environmental responsibility.
Every morning, I walked through the classrooms and school compound. I made sure sachets weren’t flying around, banana peels weren’t littering the ground, and the drains weren’t blocked with dirt. I checked toilets,
corners behind buildings, and sometimes even picked up things myself. It wasn’t always easy. Some students were careless. Others were resistant. “Why are you taking this thing too serious?” they’d ask. But I kept going.
I began to understand something deeper: a clean environment doesn’t happen by accident, it takes deliberate effort. That role made me observant. It made me responsible. And it planted something in me that has stayed even beyond school walls.
Today, I walk through streets filled with trash. Drainages are blocked with sachet water nylons and plastic bottles. Floods occur after just a short rain because of clogged gutters. And I ask myself- when did we stop caring?
Being a sanitary prefect taught me that every piece of waste we throw carelessly has a consequence. Cleanliness is not just about looking good; it’s about staying healthy, preventing disease, and showing respect for where we live.
You don’t need to be a prefect or wear a badge to keep your environment clean. It starts with choosing not to litter. It starts with telling someone else to dispose of waste properly. It starts with teaching children that being neat is not just about their clothes, but their surroundings too.
If each of us does our little part, the bigger change will come naturally.
Let’s stop waiting for someone else to clean up after us. The responsibility is ours.
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@ritaetim.