Melati and Isabel Wijsen are two sisters who share the spirit of improving the environment. A 17-year-old Melati and 15-year-old Isabel are still a teenager, but they’ve been able to amaze the world with their action on the environment.
Two teenagers mixed Indonesian-Dutch has just held a clean-up action of plastic waste on the beaches of Bali some time ago, exactly on February 25, 2018. This activity is the second time done. Earlier last year they even initiated the same event.
This beach clean-up activity is organized by the One Island One Voice community of Melati and Isabel Wijsen ideas. The volunteers who helped the event were almost 25 thousand people. They are tasked to clean up plastic waste in more than 100 locations in Bali.
One Island One Voice movement has now reached its second age since it was founded last year. One of the actions taken by this movement is to create a waste cleaning movement in Bali to commemorate National Care Trash Day, which is February 21st. Meanwhile, the garbage clearance event was held on 19 February 2017.
Last year’s garbage removal movement involved approximately 11 thousand people with the number of locations cleared reaching 55 places. This movement is quite successful and many people love the movement. Many are asking Melati and Isabel when the movement will be held again.
Seeing the enthusiasm of people so great about the movement, then Melati and Isabel decided to hold it back on 24-25 February 2018. Unexpectedly, volunteers were more than participants last year. Starting from local residents, some Indonesian artists such as Hamish Daud (actor) and Jerinx (drummer Superman is Dead), to foreign tourists participate in realizing Bali free of plastic waste. They all do it voluntarily without paying a dime.
Before establishing One Island One Voice community, Melati and Isabel Wijsen had first initiated Bye Bye Plastic Bags (BBPB) movement five years ago. At that time they were both very young, 10 years old Melati and Isabel 12 years old.
The mission of the movement is to eliminate plastic waste. Both teenagers are inspired by the lessons at school they receive about influential world figures. The characters such as Nelson Mandela, Lady Diana, Mahatma Gandhi, and Kartini. In their minds, if others can make something nice for the world, then they try it too by making BBPB movements.
Currently, BBPB movement has grown rapidly. They are now spread across countries such as Spain, Australia, China, Mexico, Malta, Myanmar, Nepal, the United States, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Tanzania. In Indonesia alone, there are two teams BBPB, in Jakarta and Batam. Their main purpose is to get people to leave plastic bags.
The names Melati and Isabel are well known to the world with their experience of speaking in international forums for campaigns on the environment. They spoke at the forum of Our Ocean Summit in Malta (2017), World Ocean Summit in Bali (2017), TEDGlobal in London (2015), Sustainable Innovations Forum in Paris (2015), and Conference of Youth (COY) 11 and Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 in Paris in 2015.
Achievements by the two brothers proved that the younger generation can give a good influence for the world. Age is unimportant, determined and accompanied by persistent effort is needed to initiate a change. One small thing that many people will certainly give big impact for the world.
Cleaning up littered rubbish is just part of a campaign to reduce the use of hard-to-decompose plastics. Inviting the public to dispose of waste in place is the main focus of Melati and Isabel Wijsen.
