VietNamNet Bridge – A lonesome journey by a certain individual can be the beginning of a trail, and a broad pathway later when others find the common goal at the end of the road. And Rémi Camus, 29, has nurtured such confidence when devoting his time and effort to the protection of clean water.

Rémi Camus is sharing his experiences on the Mekong River at the American International School in District 2

Among individuals who have their own ways to heighten public awareness of environmental problems, Camus belongs to the few. The young, energetic man has made dangerous trips in long distances in an effort to raise awareness of human beings on the environmental issues.

In fact, Camus is one of only two people in the world using river boards to conquer tremendous rivers to call for people’s attention to environmental protection. The idea flashed upon him while Camus was running through a desert in Australia where he had to drink his own urine due to the lack of clean water. The young man decided to make a journey using river-board along the Mekong River because of its biodiversity and importance to human beings.

“The Mekong River is an important river because it runs through six countries in Asia. Moreover, the ecosystem in the river is diversified and affects nearly 70 million people. We made mistakes and lost rivers in France. I do not want people in Asia to make the same mistake,” he explains. Camus expects his expedition on the Mekong River will bring safe drinking water issue to people’s notice.

During 16 months of preparation, he had to do intensive training to improve his health, including running and fitness exercises. At the same time, he wrote down his project and get it translated, so that he could explain to local people what he has been doing. In fact, inhabitants along the Mekong River have always made every effort to communicate with him.

“I think Asian people, at least the ones I met, are quite open-minded. They are interested in what I am doing and willing to learn more about the issue. I was always amazed because most of the time when I was in a village, someone would look for a person who could speak English and brought him to me.

“In a remote area, they even drove 30 kilometers to find a translator to talk to me. Another time, I spent about 20 minutes trying to explain to a group of Chinese people what I was doing in the river by drawing and using body languages,” Camus reminisces.

After finishing his swimming journey in Vietnam this April, Camus came back to France to talk about water preservation and the impact of safe drinking water shortage.  He is now working on an interactive book for children about his adventure. Besides, a documentary film will be produced to raise fund for the charity Expedition Terre Inconnue, which literally means Expedition in the Unknown Land. The organization was established to support all people on earth who do not have access to drinkable water and educate next generations of the need to protect the environment.

Especially, in his trip back to Vietnam from November to early December, Camus wishes to find partners for his new project which is expected to bring benefits to both locals and tourists to the Mekong River. He is now devoting his time and effort to seek approval from the Government to carry out the project, Camus confides to the Daily.

During his stay in HCMC, Camus is also taking part in workshops to talk with the young Vietnamese generation about water pollution and protection. On November 19, he had a meeting with more than 200 secondary students at the American International School in District 2 to talk about his journey. He spent over an hour to share his experiences and what he witnessed in the expedition. Camus hoped the information could help them realize the importance of clean water resource protection in Vietnam.

The presentation was illustrated with lively pictures and videos that he took during his floating time in the Mekong River. Audiences could find him swimming amid a section of the river full of garbage and plastic bottles. In another scene, he went adrift in the enormous riverbed where local fishing boats sometimes approached to see if he needed any help.

At the end of the meeting, Camus expressed his concern for water pollution on the Mekong River section in Vietnam’s territory. He is worried about the children who are swimming and playing on the lower part of the river every day without awareness of potential risks threatening their health.

For Camus, protecting the environment should be the responsibility of all people. As a certain saying has put it, “if one does not contribute his part to solving the problem, he is part of the problem,” Camus with all challenges he has faced in his lonesome journey wants to prove that all dwellers in the planet can have a part in solving global issues.    

SGT/VNN