Down in Vargas’ coast, people are already familiar with recycling. Children, their teachers, fishermen and more have attended talks regarding the benefits of recycling. For many of the people living there, picking up discarded plastic, paper and glass is part of their daily routine.

Starting in 2005, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named May 17 as the International Recycling Day, hoping to sow seeds of awareness regarding the importance of caring for our environment. Venezuela doesn’t have many programs that cover the subject, reason why the Atta program is so important.

Launched two years ago, the Atta program is dedicated to environmental protection via community work. The town of Chuspa became its launch site, later appearing in other Vargas communities such as Guayabal, El Trapiche, Todasana, Caruao and La Sabana, as part of the “Nuestras Playas” / “Our Beaches” initiative.

“The first thing we do is talk to the townsfolk, imparting talks open to everyone. We make them realize that collecting recycling materials is nothing but positive: it helps keeping the beaches clean, which attracts more tourists. It helps keeping the town clean, as well as diseases away. They may also gain money from the materials they recover,”

So said Alexander Useche, Yammine Foundation’s coordinator, which is in charge of the Atta program.

The educational aspect is key. Recycling has been encouraged in all schools in the area as part of the “Sowing Future” program. “Children receive points for each recycling material they deliver. Afterwards, they can exchange those points for school supplies. It is a way to encourage them while also educating them and giving value to their efforts,” said Useche.

The programs have spread all over: The five municipal Baruta schools, Caricuao’s San Agustín school, 2 children’s football clubs, hotels and businesses have joined recycling initiatives.

As part of said educational work, 525 children and teens have received recycling-themed school kits.

Another thing Atta does is provide the logistical support for the recollection of the material. Thanks to the community’s work, from the program’s very start, over 47.000Kg of recycling material has been received, of which 26.668Kg was glass, 3.774Kg was plastic, 2.656Kg was cardboard and 14.330Kg was assorted waste.

The program also supports the community by offering dental assistance to participants. “The townsfolk are always very thankful for this, since they come from poor communities that require all available support,” said the coordinator.

Alexander Useche said that they will continue encouraging recycling habits through the Atta program, and invites all interested parties to learn more about it in the Yammine Foundation website, or by writing an e-mail. The Yammine Foundation’s Youtube channel also contains material regarding the organization’s many different programs and today, on international recycling day, they have launched the @ProyectoAtta Instagram account, which is full of material of interest for those who care for the environment.

During the event, children were able to meet players from other teams and spend a fun afternoon doing what they love most: play football. The participating schools were: Laverde Brothers, C.F. Lecumberry, Charallave F.C., Los Rosales and the Jímenez Football Academy.

Sarkis Yammine, spokesman for the Yammine Foundation, expressed his joy at the event’s success and the teamwork that made it possible:

“We have rewarded 150 medals, one for each child, 5 trophies to reward all participating schools and donated two balls to each of said schools. Our aim is to continue supporting children’s football, something we have worked towards for many years, in this part of Miranda,” he said.

He said that the Yammine foundation, in the framework of their Sowing Future program, is especially invested in children and regularly supports them in areas such as education, sports and culture.

For his part, Juan de Jesús Ramírez, vice-president of the Miranda state Football Association, thanked the Yammine Foundation for their support.

“It’s a point of pride to be able to count with the Yammine Foundation’s support, since given the current situation, it is extremely hard to acquire football equipment. This Foundation reached areas of the country where many never even try to look, and has been of great help in the Valles del Tuy area,” he said.

Simon Bolivar University (U.S.B.) and Yammine Foundation (F.Y.) signed an alliance to support the educational program for young scientists. Professor Enrique Aurelio Planchart Rotundo, U.S.B. headmaster, alongside Mohsen Yammine Saade, F.Y. representative, signed the agreement in the University, located in Sartenejas, Baruta, Miranda state.

The U.S.B. has developed a study and research program of scientific and technological nature, meant to contribute to the education of young professionals in the country. The program emphasizes scientific, investigative and technological aspects, and is aimed at children, teenagers and high school teachers, in order to provide them with the necessary skills to adapt to the regular changes and evolutions of the modern world.

The Incentive Plan for Scientific Education for Pre-College Students and Teachers has been taking place in the Science Education Center and Interactive Science Museum (Didactrón) starting on 2010, and has been attended by a total of 7,583 high school students and 500 U.S.B. students getting ready to enter the workforce, besides another 548 high school teachers that have participated in a number of workshops.

In order to continue with the program, the Yammine Foundation promised to grant 100 scholarships for middle school children aged between 12 and 16, as well as their teachers. The budget will be used for the design, production and reproduction of educational material, participation logistics, snacks, as well as the design, production and edition of educational, audio-visual material and information.

Mohsen Yammine, F.Y. director, admitted his delight at having signed the agreement with the University. “We love any and all chances to contribute to the important effort the U.S.B. is doing towards the country’s scientific development, through the education of young teenagers and their teachers,” he said.

He also commented that education is one of the Yammine Foundation’s areas of interest. “It is the beginning of an alliance that we are sure will be solid. We wish to continue supporting these types of projects that provide young people, teachers and Venezuelan society as a whole with concrete support.”

Enrique Planchart, U.S.B. headmaster, expressed his gratitude towards the Yammine Foundation, since their Didactrón support will lead to the creation of an environment where students are able to directly interact with science. “It is rare to find a high school, even a private one, where the children can have direct experiences in the labs. All Didactrón does is speed up science learning,” he said.

He also added that the interactive museum project is of great social impact, since it attracts students from public institutions that wish to work with real science. This project sees the collaboration of U.S.B. students that act as guides. “However, getting to the U.S.B. isn’t easy, which is why we need to help all low-income high schools and schools to mobilize their students and teachers so they can come here. That is how the Yammine Foundation is helping us, since thanks to their help we will be able to receive groups of students in the next months. It’s a very valuable asset,” said Planchart.

Professor José Gregorio Ruiz explained that Didactrón – of which he is both the founder and current director – is a science teaching center. He said that the University’s three pillars are research, teaching and reaching out. “When we talk about reaching about, we do so thinking about the community. Didactrón opens the University’s doors and knowledge and makes them available to the communities, children and high schools,” he said.

He also added that science must be taught by experimenting, not reading. “That’s what we do, not just thinking about the children and students, but also about the teachers and professors.”

He thanked the F.Y.’s support. “Here at Didactrón there’s a ‘do touch’ sign, which implies big costs and maintenance. We deeply thank the Foundation for coming to the University and providing us with such a needed support,” he declared. Professor Ruiz also displayed great excitement when speaking about possible future endeavors alongside the Yammine Foundation, especially on the subject of environmental care.

The Yammine Foundation –organization that has the environmental pivot as one of its main priorities– recently held a series of lectures to foster recycling at the San Agustín de Caricuao School.

Children between first and sixth grade that attend to this institution, received elementary knowledge about the significance of taking care of the natural environment.

This lecture was held dynamically, so the enthusiasm of students and teachers was noticed during the session. Each one of the presents took with them the idea of contributing their sand grain.

“Recycling will give children a better future”

The Principal of the institution, Carmen Tibisay Palacios, explained that encouraging recycling from a young age, allows them “to help themselves in the future, thus to contribute to stop the damage of the planet of continue happening. If we add up, little by little great things will be achieved,” she announced.

The educator highlighted the fact that Yammine Foundation has been involved with the San Agustín de Caricuao School. “We have been working for a while with the subject matter of recycling, and now alongside the Foundation we possess another orientation to guide our children through this path,” she emphasized.

Palacios stated that recycling is necessary “to stop further pollution on the planet,” and pointed out that everyone should be committed. “We said to the Yammine Foundation not to cease and to keep working to contribute positive things to an important cause as this is,” exclaimed the principal.

Sarkis Yammine: “Our goal is to Sow the Future”

Yammine Foundation spokesman, Sarkis Yammine, commented that:  “This activity at the San Agustín School is extremely important, because it means the extension of our program ‘Sowing Future.’ We have done an important work in the locality of Chuspa (Miranda State) and since seven months ago we have been present in some schools in Caracas. We are seeking to sow a seed that will eventually be harvested for Venezuela’s future,” he added.

Yammine emphasized that the Foundation aims to build a country that flourishes from different aspects: “In this case with the environmental subject, we seek to transform the practice of recycling into educational aids that help to improve the environment of these children,” he said.

He added that in Yammine Foundation “We promote values, teamwork and effort as part of our contribution to the country’s future.”

In addition, the General Coordinator of Yammine Foundation, Alexander Useche, explained that with each one of these educational lectures, the organization creates a bond with the institutions in order to “last in time.”