CAIRO: On a narrow, dusty street in Giza, four volunteers in bright white T-shirts struggle to lift a fledgling sapling into a hole in the concrete sidewalk.
Moments later, a diesel truck armed with a hydraulic lift roars into the neighborhood and a crew works to replace a row of busted streetlights.
A crowd of kids and curious on lookers gathers, and a television crew shows up to film the volunteers as they pick up brooms and sweep in synch.
Since 1999, the Arab Office for Youth and the Environment (AOYE) has been working to clean up Cairo, and this year, the group have tied their efforts into the television show “El Afdal (The Best) and created a contest dubbed “Environment Street.
The show is hosted by Tarek Allam and appears nightly on State Channel 2 at 10:45 p.m.
“All people are very aware that burning garbage or throwing trash on the street is harmful – the main problem is providing alternatives, says Mohamed Hussein, a project coordinator with AOYE, which receives funding from the United Nations Development Program and works to raise environmental awareness in Egypt.
“Even the children – they know it’s wrong, adds Hatem Kamal, 24, another AOYE coordinator.
The concept is simple: for the month of Ramadan, streets from around Egypt compete against each other by sweeping, planting, scrubbing and painting. The progress is filmed and volunteers on the most environmentally friendly street win prizes and bragging rights – not to mention a chance to appear on television.
Earlier this week, Hussein and Kamal were touring four local streets, monitoring the progress and checking up on the volunteers.
On Ibrahim El Desouki Street – a collection of grey six-storey buildings not far from the Pyramids – volunteers planted 25 fresh trees, filled about dozen potholes and removed a massive pile of rotting rubbish.
“It’s not a main street, says Hussein, surveying the progress. “There are not many cars, so you can put green space anywhere.
Two streets over, the competitors at El Khalil Ebrahim removed a pile of trash that was being used as the neighborhood’s garbage dump.
“I’m very pleased – this is just the first step, says Hussein, who notes that along with more tree planting and sweeping, fresh asphalt will be brought in and the street’s buildings will get a fresh coat of paint.
While motivating people to pitch in and clean up in poor, crowded streets can be tough, Hussein says that the ubiquity of television as a “community outreach tool has been incredibly important.
“It feels like I’m doing something real, says Ahmed Hassan, one of the local volunteers, as a pair of barefoot toddlers scurry by.
Essam Nada, executive director of AOYE, said that the streets in this year’s competition were chosen in poor, urban areas, and the prizes handed out will reflect the “social nature of the program.
“It’s for people who are suffering, he says, noting prizes like furniture, washing machines and jewelry – generally used by the young winners as engagement gifts – were doled out to last year’s winners.
Nada notes that a total of 20 streets were chosen in three governorates this year, and six will be short-listed before a winner is picked after Ramadan.
After the trees are planted and the volunteers filmed in Giza, Hussein and Kamal pile into a small green sedan and head to check out progress at a street in Imbaba.
As the car pulls into the neighborhood, the smell of burning garbage hangs in the air and piles of trash litter the street. A sewage pipe on the road’s median is filled with refuse and a woman picks through a collection of ripped, plastic bags.
Hussein knows that motivating Caireans to clean up their city is a Herculean task, but he keeps it all in perspective by focusing on the little things.
“Sometimes, they show a lot of enthusiasm; but sometimes, it takes a while to convince them, he says, noting that a pair of volunteers didn’t show up at the earlier site, meaning two last minute replacements had to be found.
“Some days, I do my job because I love it, and sometimes I do it because I have to.
