'Keep Audley Tidy': Mosque volunteers collect 132 bags of rubbish

Volunteers from the Masjide Noorul Islam in Audley Range said they had been encouraged to launch Keep Audley Tidy (KAT) after a clean-up in April where they collected 250 bags in one afternoon. 

At the weekend, 60 volunteers were back on the streets and collected a further 132 bags of rubbish from Audley and Queens Park.

Ismail Patel, joint Secretary of the mosque, and Mobin Chotia, one of the organisers, said in a statement: ‘Residents of each location will personally be met and engaged with by our team prior to the clean-up. Volunteers are not a taskforce, however we will support clean-ups led by residents. 

“The mosque is helping to encourage the residents to take pride in where they live and to keep the area clean. Kits are available from the mosque on the day. 

“We use these events to meet like-minded neighbours and we can support them to form their own sub-groups to look after their streets. We are taking a different approach and educating families in the community so the people living on the streets are helping out to give them ownership of keeping the area clean.”

Ahmed Hajee, KAT coordinator said: “There was an amazing community spirit at the launch of our Keep Audley Tidy initiative. 

“Approximately 60 volunteers dispersed from the Masjide Noorul Islam and formed four groups that worked on the different areas. A total of 132 bags were collected which shows the extent of the issue in our area. 

“We will share the date and areas of the next monthly KAT event soon, so please join us.”

Mosque General Secretary Hasan Desai added: “We want to send a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers, councillors who took part and Audley Junior School for their kind help and support.”