Beach cleanup by MY WAVE clubs gains more supporters

As school teachers busied themselves making final preparations for tomorrow’s scheduled MY WAVE Club beach cleanup, government agencies and a travel and tour group have thrown in their support for what could yet be the biggest beach cleanup of the year involving young students.

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela and Environmental Quality Director John I. Castro Jr. have sent boxes of hand gloves and trash bags for the nearly 100 MY WAVE Club members and their advisors participating in the event.

Members of the Japan-Saipan Travel Association are also expected to join, according to Yoichi Matsumura, Pacific Development Inc., general manager who also sits on the board of the Marianas Tourism Education Council.

The MY WAVE Club members will also give tourists that world-renowned “Hafa Adai” spirit as they greet them at lobbies and beachfronts of hotels along their cleanup route from Sugar Dock to World Resort-Saipan. Assembly time is 7:30am at Sugar Dock.

Organizing a beach cleanup on the second week of school is not an easy task, said MY WAVE advisers, as they again have to go through their membership file and get individual confirmations from attending students. This, on top of the usual nitty-gritty of the first few weeks of class.

Participating schools are Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School led by MY WAVE adviser Jen Villagomez; William S. Reyes Elementary School led by advisers Loni Tudela and L.J. Castro; Oleai Elementary School led by adviser Jackie Chong; and Hopwood Junior High School, led by advisers Arlene Buniag and Pat Mendoza.

The beach cleanup—the first for this school year—was spearheaded by Marianas High School MY WAVE Club members through their adviser, Tim Faska.

The activity is supported by the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands. Dai-Ichi Hotel, World Resort-Saipan, and Saipan Grand Hotel will be providing food and drinks for the students.

Among officials participating in the event are MVA Managing Director Vicky Benavente and Northern Marianas College president Tony V. De Leon Guerrero.

MY WAVE Clubs were formed in 2002 by the MTEC in coordination with the Public School System as part of efforts to help boost tourism by involving the community.

Today, there are over 400 MY WAVE Club members in 14 public schools, including Sinapalo Elementary School on Rota and Rota High School. There was just over 300 MY WAVE Club members in 2003.