Join me as I explain my ‘Beauty with a Purpose Project’; The Pearl Protectors, that made the top 10 in 'Beauty with a Purpose' at Miss World. The Pearl Protectors is an organization that aims to raise awareness on pollution and marine conservation globally and in my own little island, Sri Lanka.
My beauty with a purpose project; The Pearl Protectors was first launced in 2018. The organisation was founded by passionate univeristy students who realised the first hand problem of mass pollution and lack of marine conservation in Sri Lanka and around the world. Since its launch, the organisation has gained the attraction of over a thousand volunteers from all parts of the Island who join in on the biweekly campaign drives to clean up plastic pollution and nurdle pollution on the shorelines of Sri Lanka.
The organisation has also launched their own advocacy initiative known as 'Marpol' in 2022. This intiative aims to introduce and incoporate maritime laws and conventions that will protect Sri Lanka's marine life and conserve the coral reefs surrounding our country. This includes introducing preventory laws such as; the dumping of garbadge and sewage from ships passing through our waters.
The Pearl Protectors has also facilitated the rescue of marine animals such as; Olivia. This maginificent Olive Ridley turtle lost her flipper due to a fishing accident and later developed 'floating syndrome'. This syndrome in recent studies has affected many turtles locally and globally, which eventually leads to the turtles being unable to dive for food as air pockets develop on their shell which keep then them afloat. One cause of this syndrome is due to pollution, which is why Pearl Protectors has also made it their mission to educate the public about the dangers mass pollution has on our marine life. Olivia may have been given a second chance, but many turtles around the globe are not, which is why we collectively must do our utmost in raising awareness and conserving our marine life.
In addition, The Pearl Protectors has expanded its volunteer campaigns to also include diving clean ups, where they hope to train more youth to get their diving license, in order to facilitate coral reef clean ups in our coastlines. By the end of February, I hope to obtain my diving license as well, so I too can join the excursions in protecting and cleaning up the coastlines of my beautiful island!
To end today's article, here's a fitting quote:
"We know that when we protect our oceans, we're protecting our future." -Bill Clinton
Lots of love and hugs,
Sade
