The economy of small towns in rural areas of China is developing rapidly and the consumption power of the people is also growing. As a result, rubbish and waste produced in everyday life and in the production process has increased tremendously. If rubbish and waste were not managed effectively, rivers and soil would be polluted and the health of the local people and those living around the rubbish dump would be affected. Xiaoer Township of Gong County in Sichuan Province is faced with such a problem. The local government and the community both want to tackle the problem. PCD is therefore supporting a community-based health project in XiaoeEr Township. The main program is a pilot plan on waste management that focuses on turning waste into resources as a means to tackle “the rubbish question”.

On the early morning of June 5th, 2007, a group of middle aged people and elderly were busy hanging up banners on the streets of Ningtai Community at Xiaoer Township. The banners they hung up read “World Environment Day – Reduce Rubbish, Start with Oneself”,

The first voluntary service cadet of Xiaoer Township was established on the World Environment Day. The volunteers wanted to convey the message of voluntarism and the love for the environment of one’s home town to all people of this town. They hoped that a civilized life and an atmosphere of love for the environment, and mutual help and fraternity could be spread throughout the community. The volunteers were members of the Ningtai Community. They had taken part in the “Sichuan Rural Environment Education Volunteers’ Training and Practice Program” supported by PCD in the summer of 2006. They had acquired knowledge on the environment and had been reflecting on the development of their home town. When they discussed about the main environmental issue of Xiaoer Township, “the rubbish question”, they agreed that one important problem was that people did not have a high awareness of environmental protection. The people were only concerned about the hygiene of their own home and did not care about the environment or public hygiene. They did not think about how one’s own lifestyle and behavior might affect the environment and other people, and of course little action had been taken to improve the environment. Because of their reflection, they decided to act and to lead the community to change its behavior in relation to the environment in order to improve the environment of their home town. Since then, they have voluntarily taken up the task of surveying the environment of the town monthly, and monitoring and persuading others on the question of public hygiene in their everyday life. On the World Environment Day of 2006, they established the cadet so as to contribute collectively to the improvement of the environment, and to the development of their home town. On the day the Ningtai Voluntary Service Cadet was established, the volunteers brought environment knowledge to the community by broadcasting the promotion film, “Environmental Protection in Everyday Life” and by distributing the promotion leaflet, “Segregating the Rubbish and Waste of Xiaoer Township”. Together with students and government officials, the volunteers carried out a big clean-up campaign of the community. In the ceremony of the establishment of the Ningtai Voluntary Service Cadet, the captain, Li Shaoren read out loud the “Behavioral Guidelines for Citizens of Xiaoer Township”, and called upon the people and the audience to join the Voluntary Service Cadet. He called upon the audience to start from small things, to start from that day and to start from oneself in the common pursuit of a better future for their home town. Over 30 people immediately registered after the ceremony to join the cadet.

Since the establishment of Ningtai Voluntary Service Cadet, voluntarism has spread in the community. The three schools in Xiaoer Town have all set up their own volunteer groups: Little Guards of Environmental Protection at the town primary school, Environmental Protection Social Group at the town secondary school, and Environmental Protection Volunteers at the town vocational school. Voluntary groups for environmental protection in Xiaoer Township are at their formative stage. To improve the capacity of the volunteers and to increase group cohesiveness, various forms of knowledge and conceptual training and activities for group and team formation are required. Good management and a good support mechanism are also important factors for the development of the voluntary groups. As the ranks of volunteer grow, meetings between veteran volunteers and new recruits have been organized by Voluntary Service Cadet and detailed registration of all volunteers has been undertaken. The time each volunteer contributes is also recorded as a way to appraise and to encourage the volunteers. With the effort and the support of every participant, volunteer groups will thrive and take a leading role in encouraging more people in the community to take part in protecting the environment. Voluntarism will grow, and the awareness of environmental protection and action to protect the environment will take root in the community.