Clean up group work hard in Old Trafford filling almost 150 bags of rubbish

The 23rd of May 2023, 10:30 am, it was a Sunday morning, and many were still deep in slumber recharging their batteries, for the coming week’s work. However, at Hullard Park a group of volunteers with green jackets were gathering.

The group of around 40 volunteers was from the World Mission Society Church of God and was composed of members from ASEZ (University volunteers), ASEZ WAO (Young Adult Worker volunteers), and other volunteers.

It was the 7093rd worldwide clean-up campaign and was part of ASEZ WAO’s Green Earth campaign and is part of an effort to raise awareness of and implement UN SDGs.

The UN SDGs are the sustainable development goals that have been adopted by all United Nations member states and provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future.

People have different levels of awareness about the global situation. On the whole, in the UK we are fortunate to live quite a sheltered and comfortable life respectively. However, there are numerous problems and issues that our planet is facing ranging from poverty, inequality, clean water and sanitation, hunger, health, climate-related issues, and more.

If the world goes forward without addressing these issues, then our future does not seem bright.

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to transform our world. They are a call to action to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice, and prosperity. It is critical that no one is left behind.”

These goals are not meant to be limited to developing countries but are global. Though in the past we have been used to the idea of our own families, our own towns, and our own country, we need to understand that we are all one huge family sharing the same home which is this earth.

What happens in other parts of the world affects us too. Helping others is actually helping ourselves and we all need to work together to save our earth which is our only home, for ourselves and future generations, and make it a place where everyone may live happily.

The volunteers are putting this into practice. The event was especially meaningful as it was a united effort with 12 young adults traveling all the way from South Korea to join and with clean-ups being carried out simultaneously in London (UK), Amsterdam & Rotterdam (Netherlands), Paris (France), and Leuven (Belgium).

Putting into practice the words “save the earth from the beginning to the end as one family” the volunteers in Old Trafford and the other five locations went to work to clean up the streets, picking up litter and fly-tipped materials.

In Old Trafford, the volunteers cleaned from Hullard Park all the way down to Cornbrook Tram station, as well the nearby streets along the way. Also, at the other five locations the volunteers worked hard to do their part.

Finally in total about 150 bags of rubbish and other fly-tipped items coming to an estimated 1,600kg was collected. At the end each group at each of the six locations took pictures with banners and smiling faces, happy and pleased with the good work that had been done.

One of the volunteers from South Korea commented

“I am from South Korea and participated in this event because we are all one global family. It feels great doing the voluntary work and I hope that through this more and more people can be encouraged to volunteer and help in all different ways according to their circumstances so that together we can make this earth a happy place for all of us.”

Both ASEZ and ASEZ WAO are volunteer groups from the World Mission Society Church of God. The Church of God believes in God the Father and God the Mother, keeps the New Covenant, and is the only church in the world that keeps the Passover of the New Covenant.

One of the things the Church of God is well known for is its voluntary work and good deeds, with it receiving Voluntary awards from the president of America, President of South Korea, its volunteers receiving the Queen’s Award and also recently receiving the Brazilian legislative Medal.

The volunteer activities of the church of God stem from the heart of Mother. The love of a mother is self-sacrificing and gives without wanting to receive, thinking of others first. ASEZ and ASEZ WAO embody this love and mindset in their activities which has led them to receive the Green Apple Award, Green world award and also be nominated as Green Ambassadors for their environmental work and projects.

With this love at the core of their work, the groups are expanding more and more and are beginning to carry out more and larger coordinated global events to reduce crime prevention, tackle climate change, reduce inequality and raise awareness of UN SDGs as well as implement them.

The volunteers are passionate and caring and with the heart of Mother wish to continue to work together to support Manchester, the UK, and the World in the implementation of the UN SDGs, and contribute more as time goes by. By doing so they wish to fulfil the dream of a sustainable earth, where everyone can live happily and no one is left behind, as one family.

The volunteers plan to carry out more activities in the coming days and send a big “we love you” to Manchester, the UK, and the whole world.

We thank Joe for this article and the great work done to clear up the rubbish in Old Trafford.