Hero of the Week: Carmen Salva

In many parts of the world, polluting is the norm and recycling is unheard of.  Since the point of Tonic News is to highlight people doing good things (and making it easy for YOU to do the same), Carmen Salva is our "Tonic Hero of the Week."  She is cleaning up her native Argentina and educating an entire generation of youth all at the same time. Salva founded Esperanza de Vida in 1997 to organize and lead young people in cleaning up Argentina's littered landscape.  Salva, who is 49, grew up in the Jujuy province of northern Argentina and has served as a teacher in her community for over 20 years.  About 10 years ago, she and her students noticed trash accumulating around their school so they decided to do something about it and clean it up. The group initially cleaned up parks around the school, but has expanded over the years to include additional schools and up to 150 volunteers.  80 of the volunteers are children. "I believe that change begins with the youth," she says.  "They will teach future generations how to care for nature and everything that surrounds us." On weekends, the group hikes to the nearby mountains where they clean up trash and sort it for recycling.  On an average Saturday, the group collects roughly 60 bags of trash for recycling.  They use llamas to carry the load down the mountain. Salva's story is remarkable -- not only is she changing the mindset of an entire generation (or two) of children, she is taking action to solve the problem of pollution in Argentina.  I can't think of a better hero to spotlight! Source: CNN.com