


Back to where it all began, with my soul brother Sebastian on the beautiful Colombian coast. Sebastian began the day with some volunteers cleaning up his community in Taganga, then met us in Trompito for a Clean Planet Play Date collaboration with Sara and Erica and the local kiddos.
We waited out the rain at the school as Verónica read and acted out the story of the fish who was sad because his river was polluted. We chose an energetic curly-haired kid to play the role of the fish, who at first did not seem to embrace his role. Kids who at first may have been skeptical at participating soon warmed up with Verónica’s infectious warmth and childlike spirit.
The rain stopped and we went to the soccer field to continue educating the kids about the dangers of plastic and how to properly dispose of their trash. They listened attentively (well, most of them) and then sprang into motion when it was time for games.We completed the day with a group cleanup.
It’s worth telling the story of Maria Fernanda (MaFe) who couldn’t have been more than 6 years old, enthuasiastically picking up every piece of trash she could find. And our curly-haired kiddo – well he wouldn’t let Verónica pick up any trash, because HE was the one who wanted to clean up so that he wouldn’t be sad.We’ve had enough Clean Planet Play Dates to know that the kids really do pay attention. Still, to see this kiddo embrace our activity and, as young as he is, completely understand that he has agency over the state of his environment – it never gets old.
Thank you to Sebastian for inviting his Taganga community to join us too, for his teamwork printing out sheets that told our story for the kids to color, for Verónica for leading the group, and to Sara and Erica for gathering the kids in El Trompito.
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