There is a lot to love about Hanoi. The culture, the food, the people. There is a lot which we are able to look at and take joy in, but for all the beauty it holds, Hanoi has an ugly side to it too. For two years James Kendall lived in Hanoi, like most of us when confronted by a mountain of garbage, covered his mouth, looked away, and kept on moving. That was until May of 2015 when he finally decided that he was done just letting the garbage continue to encroach upon his neighborhood and decided to do something about it. Taking up what resources he had, James began to reclaim his land and on that day Keep Hanoi Clean was born.

Ever since, the group has held regular clean-up projects around the city to raise awareness of the issue and help generate a proactive spirit of change in the community. This summer, Love in Action connected with James and his team to create a partnership between the two groups holding three clean-up projects in local neighborhoods and parks to date.

November 25^th and 26^th will mark the date for the largest clean-up project Keep Hanoi Clean has ever attempted and it’s taking place at the Long Bien Bridge. This effort will require hundreds of people armed with trash bags and shovels to help the community that lives under the bridge take back their land. In addition, we hope that the project will establish a partnership between the local community and the government to provide regular continued care for the area.