IKHLAS AL-HAMROUNI

TUNISIA – In a quiet corner of the southern suburb, where the sea meets the land, Wafa Al-Baladi's experience stands out as a model of volunteer work seeking to bring about change in the environmental and social reality. She chose to turn her love for the place into continuous field initiatives, making the protection of the coastal strip a responsibility she shares with the people of her region.

The story of Wafa Al-Baladi, a graduate of the Higher School of Electronic Commerce, began with a simple idea, but it carried within it a desire to bring about tangible change. She says: "The idea was to choose an abandoned place full of dirt, clean it so that it becomes a safe place, and use it to organize an artistic or sports event."

From this individual initiative, cleaning campaigns were launched in the center of Hammam Lif city, which were not limited to removing waste, but extended to include awareness activities aimed at entrenching a culture of preserving the environment.

Wafa Al-Baladi worked to attract volunteers by publishing calls for participation through social media, and succeeded in gathering groups that contributed to turning the initiative into continuous collective work. The campaigns are no longer a seasonal activity or a passing occasion, but have become a series of field initiatives in which a number of volunteers participate.

The Umbrella Lady

Wafa Al-Baladi addressed her experience in the "Blue Park" in Hammam Lif city, where volunteers worked on making environmentally friendly containers and using recycled materials, including plastic, paper, and old tires. Used car wheels were transformed into waste containers after being cleaned, painted, and decorated.

She said: "Since then, we have been working and advancing more, and we have never stopped. Even when we do not have cleaning campaigns, we work on making tools that help us in our volunteer tasks. We made a manual sieve with the help of a blacksmith from the region, and we also made metal containers by cutting some barrels in half and adding handles to them, then placed them along the Hammam Lif beach, and we still have ten others that we will place on the coastal strip of the southern suburb."

Within the framework of sports activities, the group organized the first handball match in front of the "Hammam Lif Casino," a famous archaeological and historical landmark in Tunisia, after cleaning the surroundings of the place. She explains that the work used to take a full day, and included cleaning, removing weeds, sieving sand, and disposing of waste.

From the womb of this field experience, Wafa Al-Baladi acquired the title "The Umbrella Lady," which did not come from nothing, but was linked to her continuous daily presence at work sites. She says: "I used to work from morning until night, and when the heat intensified I would carry an umbrella so that I could move around and work, and from here my story with the title The Umbrella Lady began."

She notes that one woman gifted her an umbrella made of silver, in appreciation of her efforts and to encourage her to continue volunteer work.

Volunteer Work Is a Continuous Responsibility

In a message she addressed to the women of Tunisia, Wafa Al-Baladi called for courage, perseverance, and engagement in cleaning campaigns and environmental work, considering that preserving the cleanliness of the surroundings is no less important than caring for the cleanliness of the home, and that it is a responsibility toward society and the environment.

She stressed the necessity that cleaning and environmental awareness campaigns should not remain linked to certain seasons, but should continue throughout the year. "Cleaning campaigns and awareness campaigns should not be seasonal, but should be continuous throughout the year. We focused on the sea and beaches because it is the summer season and the sea season, but these campaigns must continue throughout the year, because protecting the environment is not linked to a particular season or season."

Wafa Al-Baladi concluded her interview by emphasizing that volunteer work in the environmental field is a national and societal responsibility, calling on women to participate effectively in serving the environment and society, and stressing the importance of collective work to protect the surroundings and improve the environmental reality.

Wafa Al-Baladi's experience stands out as a model of volunteer work seeking to bring about change in the environmental and social reality. She chose to turn her love for the place into continuous field initiatives, making the protection of the coastal strip a responsibility she shares with the people of her region.

The story of Wafa Al-Baladi, a graduate of the Higher School of Electronic Commerce, began with a simple idea, but it carried within it a desire to bring about tangible change. She says: "The idea was to choose an abandoned place full of dirt, clean it so that it becomes a safe place, and use it to organize an artistic or sports event."

From this individual initiative, cleaning campaigns were launched in the center of Hammam Lif city, which were not limited to removing waste, but extended to include awareness activities aimed at entrenching a culture of preserving the environment.

Wafa Al-Baladi worked to attract volunteers by publishing calls for participation through social media, and succeeded in gathering groups that contributed to turning the initiative into continuous collective work. The campaigns are no longer a seasonal activity or a passing occasion, but have become a series of field initiatives in which a number of volunteers participate.

The Umbrella Lady

Wafa Al-Baladi addressed her experience in the "Blue Park" in Hammam Lif city, where volunteers worked on making environmentally friendly containers and using recycled materials, including plastic, paper, and old tires. Used car wheels were transformed into waste containers after being cleaned, painted, and decorated.

She said: "Since then, we have been working and advancing more, and we have never stopped. Even when we do not have cleaning campaigns, we work on making tools that help us in our volunteer tasks. We made a manual sieve with the help of a blacksmith from the region, and we also made metal containers by cutting some barrels in half and adding handles to them, then placed them along the Hammam Lif beach, and we still have ten others that we will place on the coastal strip of the southern suburb."

Within the framework of sports activities, the group organized the first handball match in front of the "Hammam Lif Casino," a famous archaeological and historical landmark in Tunisia, after cleaning the surroundings of the place. She explains that the work used to take a full day, and included cleaning, removing weeds, sieving sand, and disposing of waste.

From the womb of this field experience, Wafa Al-Baladi acquired the title "The Umbrella Lady," which did not come from nothing, but was linked to her continuous daily presence at work sites. She says: "I used to work from morning until night, and when the heat intensified I would carry an umbrella so that I could move around and work, and from here my story with the title The Umbrella Lady began."

She notes that one woman gifted her an umbrella made of silver, in appreciation of her efforts and to encourage her to continue volunteer work.

Volunteer Work Is a Continuous Responsibility

In a message she addressed to the women of Tunisia, Wafa Al-Baladi called for courage, perseverance, and engagement in cleaning campaigns and environmental work, considering that preserving the cleanliness of the surroundings is no less important than caring for the cleanliness of the home, and that it is a responsibility toward society and the environment.

She stressed the necessity that cleaning and environmental awareness campaigns should not remain linked to certain seasons, but should continue throughout the year. "Cleaning campaigns and awareness campaigns should not be seasonal, but should be continuous throughout the year. We focused on the sea and beaches because it is the summer season and the sea season, but these campaigns must continue throughout the year, because protecting the environment is not linked to a particular season or season."

Wafa Al-Baladi concluded her interview by emphasizing that volunteer work in the environmental field is a national and societal responsibility, calling on women to participate effectively in serving the environment and society, and stressing the importance of collective work to protect the surroundings and improve the environmental reality.