The Tennis Federation of Cambodia and its global goodwill ambassador Hisae Arai are joining hands in a rare health and hygiene initiative involving nearly 1,000 volunteers to clean up the coastal city of Kep on Saturday.

The project named Kep Kep Clean has been launched by the Miss Japan Volunteer Association, of which Arai is the Southeast Asian representative, promoting environmental awareness throughout the Kingdom.

The 2011 Miss Japan Kimono will lead the volunteer force along with her sister Kiko, the 2012 Traditional Japanese Beauty Pageant winner, in this mass movement supported by the municipality of Kep and garbage collection company GAEA.

Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh will also join the campaign, which starts from the Crab Market at 8am.

Unveiling the project’s mascot Keppy designed by Hisae Arai herself at a news conference in Phnom Penh yesterday, the TFC Ambassador, who completed her first year in that role last month, hailed the support extended by the Tennis Federation.

“Keeping an exotic location like Kep, which is straddled by mountains and sea, clean is of paramount importance,” Hisae Arai told the gathering of media personnel.

TFC secretary-general Tep Rithivit said the Federation was not only concerned with teaching tennis skills at grassroots level. “We also want our kids to learn lessons for life in keeping their surrounds clean so that they can shape their own destiny and guide the next generations,” he said.

In her short address, Kiko Arai said this project was a great opportunity to show the rest of the country the importance of keeping cities clean.

GAEA managing director Pho Phalkun said his company was happy to be associated with a mass awareness programme like this.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Kep has announced that it will designate Hisae Arai as its goodwill ambassador to promote tourism and environmental awareness through out its territory.