In a groundbreaking initiative, Bedikat HaMayim, a pioneering project launched by the Repair the Sea organization (Tikkun HaYam), made its debut across the globe. This year will be the first time the organization attempts to conduct a second category of global marine cleanup exercise in the period leading up to Passover. Not surprisingly, as usual, the concept, an entirely new line of thought, invokes the Passover spirit, motivating the willingness to participate in environmental conservation activities.
Like the Reverse Tashlich, an annual cleanup initiative that has been ongoing globally for a total of 7 outings, Bedikat HaMayim arose as a public appeal for more involvement beyond the traditional one-time yearly event. The rising interest highlights a significant shift in the recognition of the need to address plastic pollution and waste within our natural ecosystems, which is expected to reach 12 billion tons by 2050. Plastic pollution is increasingly recognized as a major global issue, impacting the environment, human health, and the economy. Exposure to plastic has been associated with a range of health problems, such as cancer, reproductive issues, and respiratory diseases.
In the area of marine pollution, plastic ingestion harms aquatic organisms, with 600 species projected to be affected by 2050, including 90% of seabirds and 15% of marine species. Nonetheless, under the unwavering leadership of Tikun HaYam, a growing Jewish population has an interest in joining the mission. The reason is that these initiatives are deeply rooted in Jewish customs, inspiring groups and individuals alike to encourage recovering plastic waste, recycling, and ultimately creating a sense of obligation to protect our health and ecosystem.
When I was assigned to write about this, it was important to read up about the concept to understand what differentiates it from the Reverse Tashlich, which I took part in last year with a cleanup team at the Jabi Lake in the heart of Abuja when Reverse Tashlich made debut in West Africa. While the Reverse Tashlich is rooted in the idea of the Rosh Hashanah Tashlich rituals, the new concept is built around Passover with a focus on Miriam (the sister of Moshe Rabbeinu).
Chief among other things, the initiative reminds us about Miriam, who is most closely associated with water: she hid the baby Moshe in the river Nile, led the children of Israel in song after the crossing of the Red Sea, and had a drinking well in the desert that preserved the Israelites throughout their sojourn in the wilderness until her demise.
Secondly, designating it as a pre-Passover cleanup is appropriately timed, as the Exodus season symbolizes the narrative of freedom and the favorable sea crossing.
Before the introduction of the Bedikat HaMayim, the parent organization, Repair the Sea, presented a new cup aimed at incorporating the concept of sustainability into the Passover Seder table. This unique cup, known as Miriam’s Cup, honors her legacy, powers, and remarkable connections to water and is made from recycled plastic water bottles, connecting our Jewish tradition with a commitment to environmental responsibility. Miriam’s Cup narrates a tale of renewal, resilience, and repair, transforming plastic pollution into something useful. Participating in the Bedikat HaMayim marine cleanup clearly demonstrates our commitment to giving back to the water that sustained our ancestors while also fostering sustainability and environmental responsibility.
With Miriam primarily in the center of the concept and the Red Sea and the Nile’s relation to the African continent, it was historic and brilliant for the exercise to reach the mouth of the Nile, Africa’s longest river, in its first edition. In the spirit of Bedikat HaMayim, Save the Nile Group, organized by Avraham Ben Avraham and supported by the Repair the Sea organization, executed an impressive cleanup effort on Lake Victoria, which is the largest tropical lake in the world. Their intention was rendered reciprocally as an obligation to save the River Nile, which has its source close to the Masese landing site on the shores of Lake Victoria in Jinja, central Uganda.
Before the cleanup exercise began, plans were made to map the areas around the lake that would be cleaned. The mouth of the Nile, which is commonly known as the source of the Nile, is closest to the popular Masese landing site. The area has a market, a jetty for boats ferrying people and supplies into several lake islands, and a recreational resort that attracts millions of visitors, mostly schoolchildren on field trips and excursions. In addition to the plastic pollution caused by activities in these areas, it is common to see plastics floating from the lake and settling on the shores at Masese. A trip to the closest island from the shore, the Kisima 1 island, revealed that an enormous amount of plastic has accumulated on the island. The same scenario is prevalent in all of the hundreds of inhabited lake islands. From these islands, indiscriminately littered plastics escape into the lake and freely drift in all directions.
Meanwhile, in the distant Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria, which is thousands of kilometers away from Jinja, members of the Beth Ha’arachman Jewish community participated in the cleanup effort. Led by their spiritual leader, Emmanuel Yerimyahu, they turned out in numbers for the marine conservation exercise, a practice they have adopted as a religious communal activity in contribution to the fight against plastic pollution.
They again chose the Atlantic beachfront in Ibeno, southern Nigeria, for the cleanup. Several students from Brachot Yeahiva, a primary and secondary school under the synagogue management, also joined them. Members of the community that included men, women, and the youth, along with the students, eventually became the pioneering group in Nigeria to take part in the Passover cleanup after making their debut in the reverse-tashlich October 30th event. They had traveled a distance of approximately two hours to reach the beachfront, a popular destination for tourists seeking relaxation, only to subsequently litter the surrounding area with their waste.
The Akwa Ibom team, dressed in reflectors, moved around the bench front, which has several shops and joints where customers sit to relax. Ahead of an expected busy day, the team arrived quite on time, moving through the environment and handpicking the plastics that littered different parts of the area. It took them over 2 hours to gather a heap of used plastic bottles, placing them next to some gathered tree parts that were washed up on the shoreline. Some shop owners praised their efforts and offered to help by inviting plastic scavengers to take the collected plastics to a nearby dump site, where trucks would haul them to city recyclers.
In Nigeria and other locations, particularly in the United States, the global exercise took place along the shoreline. But the Ugandan team worked on the shore and in a lake island. Notwithstanding the heavy downpour that began early in the afternoon on 6th April, they refused to be deterred by the unfriendly weather, which would make the exercise somewhat risky. After the rains, it was refreshing to see the skies clear before the exercise.
The team consisted of people from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish backgrounds hailing from two Jewish congregations in Mukono, located approximately 85km from Jinja. This interfaith team, assembled in a brief period, focused on individuals who are motivated and have the essential marine skills required for the operation. Nevertheless, the group was truly a representation that the business of cleaning the lake should be a collective effort for everyone, involving those living close to the lakeside or living in any of the islands in the lake—even though ultimately it’s a Jewish-led venture driving environmental change.
Members of the team were highly motivated as they set out to begin the cleaning process. They wore safety vests and boots and sailed with a sack each into the lake. The first destination was the Kisima One Island, a small fishing village at the edge of Lake Victoria with a population of about 3,500. They aimed to collect as many plastic bottles as possible, knowing they would have to fit them all in the engine-powered boat.
conservation efforts.
Plastic pollution has been on the rise, posing a significant threat to the lake’s ecosystem and its aquatic life. With over 925 islands scattered across its surface, Lake Victoria, with about 7000 kilometers of perimeter, is shared by three countries: Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. In Uganda alone, Lake Victoria’s 150 inhabited islands have an estimated 250,000 people, with Buvuma Island having a share of 89,890, according to the 2014 national population and housing census. Unfortunately, this population increase has led to the generation of plastic waste, resulting in millions of pieces of plastic being littered indiscriminately across the island district. In an interview with Avraham, who led the Save the Nile team, he gave a detailed analysis of the plastic pollution of the lake.
“One of the major sources of plastic pollution in the lake comes from its several lake islands with significant growing populations who unfortunately have turned the islands they live into their permanent garbage dump sites. When it rains, lots of these bottles get washed into the lake and eventually drift by wind and wave to different locations on the mainland shorelines, and some flow into the River Nile, which is specifically the main interest. To save the Nile, we have to repair the lake, starting right from these inhabited lake islands where tons of plastics can be intercepted, retrieved, and prevented from getting washed into the waters of the lake.”
The Nile, one of the oldest rivers mentioned in the Torah, still offers several economic benefits to the continent. The Victoria-Nile, named after its emergence from Lake Victoria around Masese Landing in Jinja, powers a nearby hydro dam. The dam, which is operated by the Uganda Electricity Company, is a source of power generation for both domestic use and lots of which are exported across the border to Kenya.
Back at Kisima 1 Island, the 15-man team under the leadership of Avraham did a thorough cleaning job. In an operation that lasted about one hour, they filled up their sacks, loaded them up on the boat, and sailed away. Passing at close proximity to Kisima 2 and Samuka Island, they sailed for another 30 minutes to get to the mouth of the Nile, which is the exact boundary spot between the lake and the Nile River.
Even though the “Save the Nile” initiative was born in this historic time, a foundation is being formed around it to
go beyond Bedikat HaMayim. Marine conservation is a worthy course for Jews to embark on if a lot of impact can
be made compared to a one-day annual global event. The lake and its numerous inhabited islands, despite being home to vibrant communities and vital ecosystems, no large-scale cleanup has ever been implemented in this region. As a result, millions of plastic items have accumulated along the shores and in the water, threatening marine life, public health, and the economic viability of tourism in badly affected parts of the lake islands. Therefore, a permanent plastic cleanup project is being considered, which would follow a suitable work template
that guarantees profitability and can generate meaningful livelihoods for those involved.
That’s why the “Save the Nile” group’s proposed new mission makes sense. To save the Nile, their team’s focus is to repair the lake by directly removing plastics from several lake islands, mainly the Buvama island, which alone is made up of 52 islands, and then the Kisima 1 and 2 islands and Samuka island that are close to the source of the Nile. The group is considering setting a realistic target of removing 5 million plastic bottles, provided they can develop actionable activities within a timeframe that sustains operational expenses, thereby transforming the initiative into a sustainable and innovative venture.
Organizers, participants, and supporters lauded the successful global launching of the Bedikat HaMaym exercise. Its historical reach to the mouth of the Nile also signals an important starting point in the new Jewish effort in the fight against plastic pollution in Uganda. When the Jinja cleanup crew returned, all the collected plastics were moved to a local dump site, where trucks would pick them up and take them to recycling factories in Jinja and Mukono.
Moving forward, it is paramount to build on the momentum generated and work toward contributing our efforts for a sustainable future. The outing, which served as a successful pilot test, demonstrated effective waste removal from the lake and aimed to recycle materials, thereby making trash find usefulness again. By combining community engagement, innovative thinking, and partnerships, we can protect these vital ecosystems for generations to come.
