By Bojan Aleksovski, YES 2013-2014, Macedonia, hosted by AFS in Chelmsford, Massachusetts

On April 21, YES ’17 alumni Ljupka Kostova (hosted by PAX in Menasha, WI) and Ilija Ristovski (hosted by AYUSA in Nampa, ID) organized a clean-up event for Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) in the Matka Canyon, which is located close to the city of Skopje.

Matka is a canyon located west of central Skopje, Macedonia. Covering roughly 5,000 hectares, Matka is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in Macedonia and is home to several medieval monasteries. The Matka Lake within the Matka Canyon is the oldest artificial lake in the country.

Around 15 YES alumni took part in the clean-up action, along with four YES Abroad students and five other non-alumni and friends. The group had a great time making the canyon cleaner and more pleasant for everyone in the community, and they enjoyed engaging the rest of the community in this clean-up action as well.

By implementing this clean-up project, not only did the alumni contribute to solving the littering problem, but they also raised awareness about the amount of waste produced and the importance of waste prevention and reduction! Trash is a resource. Solid waste management must become a reasonable and democratic means of resource management, resource collection, and energy creation.