Selfless volunteers had pounded the streets during a widespread litter pick – to help cash-strapped councils. Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Birmingham and Wolverhampton a spruce-up
Big-hearted members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) – some as young as seven, put on hi-vis jackets and cleaned several town centres around the West Midlands.
The huge street clean campaign kicked off early on New Year’s Day and, while most people enjoyed a day off, youngsters helped to clean the streets after the festivities on New Year’s Eve.
Young Muslims swept, scrubbed and gave town centres including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Halesowen a huge spring clean ahead the new year.
Atta Khan, regional youth coordinator for the Midlands, said: “We’ve been doing the New Year’s clean-up for many years now, and each year we see more and more members coming to help.
“In Islam, ‘Cleanliness is Part of Faith’, so there’s no better way to serve our faith and our country, there’s no better way for us to start the new year.”
AMYA is hoping to exceed its efforts from 2018, where they held over 300 community clean-ups and planted 20,000 trees across the year.
The New Year’s activities will help to kick-start 2019 with hundreds of volunteer projects planned throughout the year.
AMYA Vice President, Adam Walker, explains why young Muslims are holding the campaign.
He said: “Islam urges every Muslim to partake in charitable giving, community service, and promote cleanliness.
“AMYA has and continues to instil young people with a sense of civic responsibility, and a desire to promote harmony within our local communities.
“The New Year’s Day Clean-up campaign ensures Muslim youth can be active members of society and serve their communities and the environment.”
The aim was that the initiative would not only instil the values of volunteering and community service, but also support local councils by alleviating costs.
