As World Water Day falls on Sunday, dozens of high school students paid a visit to Muara Angke River in North Jakarta on Saturday, only to find a murky river filled with the flotsam and jetsam of garbage.

The students got into the fishermen’s boats to sail along the river, which is a meeting point of 13 rivers in the city.

Hannita Andriani, 16, was stunned when she spotted a woman taking the river’s water to brush her teeth and take a shower.

“Oh my gosh, how could the woman brush her teeth with such dirty water? It’s not healthy,” Hannita exclaimed.

“Look, she does not seem to worry about using the water. She does not even care about her health,” said the student from high school SMA 36 in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

She was more surprised when she found out that residents in the area, who mostly worked as fishermen, used the heavily polluted water to clean mussels and fish they had just caught from

the river.

“That’s not right. Cleaning the mussels and fish with polluted water will harm people who consume them,” she said.

Hannita was one of 50 students who visited Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve in an event called the

Love Water Camp (Kemah Cinta Air) held by PT Coca Cola Indonesia.

The two-day event, from Saturday until Sunday, was held in conjunction with World Water Day.

The program was aimed at raising students’ awareness on the importance of saving and preserving water, as well as keeping the environment clean, said the company’s director of corporate affairs.

World Water Day is an initiative introduced in 1992 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As well as a brief tour of Muara Angke, the students also visited Manggarai sluice gate in South Jakarta and Katulampa sluice gate in Bogor, West Java.

The students took river water samples from the three locations, measured their acidity and compared them.

A participant, Kurniati, said the trip taught her many lessons.

“It made me appreciate water and want to conserve it. I learned it is very important to always dispose of trash appropriately so it won’t pollute the environment,” said the 16—year—old student.   

“I hope the city administration can do something about the water pollution. They, for example, could provide more cranes to remove the garbage clogging the Manggarai sluice gate,” she said.

Another participant, Ari Febriawan, agreed.

“Water is the most important natural resource for humans. What can we do without clean water?” Ari said.  

“I always try to save water in my daily life, like turning off the tap after using it, and I try to keep the environment clean. I hope all people can do the same,” he said.  

On Sunday, the students will do environmentally friendly activities at Gunung Geulis Adventure Camp in Bogor, such as planting trees and exploring the lake.

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