“Where flowers bloom, so does hope,” Lady Bird Johnson once said reflecting the power a flower can promulgate. A new hope can definitely promote changes in our lifestyle. This change was sought in the “Sorting from the Source” domain as a part of the Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) project that the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) is conducting in Baalbek and Bedneyel.
Holding a flower and knocking the doors of 684 households and 83 institutions in Baalbek and Bedneyel’s neighborhoods was such a smooth way to pass on the sorting process and galvanize people to take part in it.
In the beginning, WASH’s team faced some difficulties pertaining to the social acceptance. However, after receiving the flower gesture, people showed true eagerness toward the project and lent them a listening ear.
One woman, who had initially shown a negative attitude toward the idea of sorting from the source, insisted on letting the team in after receiving a flower pot by saying, “Come in! Let me show you what I do with my organic wastes.” For the team’s surprise, the woman was treating her organic waste by turning it into compost!
Going green is the policy LOST’s WASH is trying to ingrain in people’s minds. A flower can flip one’s attitude, a new attitude can change a lifestyle, and a different lifestyle can make a special addition to the world.
