FORMER homeless man, Carl Melville, will soon return to the Kingston Seawall to continue the clean-up works he had started while he was living there in 2020.

Melville, after embarking on the voluntary mission to clean the entire stretch of Georgetown seawalls, was rewarded with a place to live and has since gained employment. After his efforts were recognised in August 2020, he took a short hiatus from his cleaning campaign to get his personal affairs in order. He has now decided to resume the works in time for the Christmas festivities.

During an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday, Melville who cherishes cleanliness, recalled that he took note of the indiscriminate disposal of garbage on the seawalls.

At the time, he said nothing was being done to address this issue and so he took it upon himself to clean the stretch from the bandstand to the Marriott Hotel, every day.

“I look at the condition of the seawall and I started to clean-up and I never get pay or nothing like that.”

Melville noted that with many persons visiting the area to partake in Christmas festivities, he will be returning to the hotspot to help keep it clean.
Not a man of many words, he considers himself an advocate for the environment and hopes that more people will one day recognise the need for proper garbage disposal and see the importance of keeping the environment clean.

After being recognised for his efforts, several volunteers joined Melville and eventually a clean-up group was formed.

The group, Seawalls and Beyond, has since become a house-hold name and has spearheaded several clean-up exercises along the seawall stretch.
Dwayne Hackett is the founder of the group and many persons have since joined the cause.

The group has also received some assistance from First Lady Arya Ali, who was moved by Melville’s story and wanted to commend him personally. For the next five years, she plans to champion, among other initiatives, a Scenic Conservation Project which will help to safeguard the scenic qualities of Guyana’s roadways, urban spaces, and countryside, while simultaneously creating a more environmentally-friendly society.

The volunteers are supported by dozens of other Guyanese, who would turn out mainly on the weekend to lend a helping hand towards getting the area cleaned.