VietNamNet Bridge - On the way to the office one day, American teacher James Kendall noticed piles of rubbish along the road and later decided to join his voluntary group named "Keep Hanoi Clean" to clear the waste.

On June 2, the Wall Street Journal ran an article by James Hookway on James Kendall, an American teacher in Vietnam, who helped clear refuse from Hanoi waterways in May.

James Kendall has a dirty way of having of fun that has made him one of Vietnam’s favorite Americans, the article said.

Inching his way along a 4-foot-wide storm drain here in the nation’s capital one afternoon last month, the 34-year-old schoolteacher was hoping to map out some choke points caused by trash accumulating in the city’s underground waterways.

James Hookway talked about curiosity of bystanders when Mr. Kendall stepped into Hanoi’s canals and floodways to clean up refuse voluntarily earlier in May for first time. Kendall also got a telling-off from a local government officer.

He kept up his cleanup act and suddenly has become something of a celebrity and a focus for the country’s growing environmental movement after the city’s mayor Nguyen Duc Chung awarded him a medal.

On May 23, he was on the evening television news, second only to a report on US President Barack Obama lifting a Cold War arms embargo on Vietnam during his state visit.

People meets Mr. Kendall in Hanoi cafes often ask him to pose for photographs.

“It’s really strange getting all this attention,” said Mr. Kendall, who moved to Vietnam three years ago to teach English. “All I wanted to do is just clean up some trash.” 

James Hookway also talked about software developer Nguyen Quoc Trinh, 26, who found Mr. Kendall’s Facebook page, Keep Hanoi Clean, and joined volunteers from his neighborhood to clean up their community and plant trees the following weekend.

Trinh is working on developing a smartphone app that lets people use GPS and Google Maps to pinpoint problem areas and describe what kind of work needs to be done.

James Joseph Kendall, 34, from Springfield, Ohio, USA, is the founder of the “Keep Hanoi Clean” group, which has joined hands with the community to safeguard the capital’s environment through practical activities.   Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung recently presented the official Hanoi pin to James.       James has lived in Vietnam since 2013, teaching English to children at several schools throughout Hanoi.     James discovered rubbish on Nguyen Hoang Ton Road, Tay Ho District.     James took photos of the waste to show to his group and ask for the local government’s help.     Later James and his volunteers cleaned this garbage dump.       His team works from about 7 am-10 am, 1.30-5.30pm.   One member of the group Hung (in picture) saidthis was his first time working with the “Keep Hanoi Clean” after knowing about it via Facebook. Hung said he would tell his wife to join the group to do a “meaningful task”.   Currently, the group only works on a small scale but James plans to expand its operations to entire Hanoi.     Local people support the group.   An area in Cau Giay district after being cleaned up by James’ group.