The Three Hearts Foundation (THF) and its leading partner Tennis Cambodia will jointly organise an environmentally-friendly clean up of the coastal town of Kep this Saturday, involving up to 2,000 volunteers including hundreds of tennis playing students, several national team players, town residents and municipal officers.

As part of its mission to serve the Kingdom in the areas of health, environment and sports, the THF organised a dental care program for young tennis players in Phnom Penh last month and has given its second major initiative of the year the intriguing name of “Kep Kep Clean”.

“There will be three different groups setting out in the morning to clean up the Crab Market area, the popular beachline, Rabbit Island and other parts of the city over a stretch of nearly three hours,” THF managing director Hisae Arai, a former Miss Japan and Tennis Cambodia’s global goodwill ambassador, told a news conference in Phnom Penh yesterday.

“The operation this year will be on a much larger scale compared to last year with the participation of scores of more volunteers.

“Our aim is to educate the people as to why cities should be clean and to take the Kep example to the other parts of the country. Clean cities also boost tourism to a great extent.

“With this event, we continue the celebration of the 60-year long friendship between Japan and Cambodia. Miss Japan 2014, Marina Hanaoka will be one of the high profile visitors from Japan taking part in the event,” added Arai.

Tennis Cambodia secretary general Tep Rithivit, who is also the executive director of TCH, said they were proud to be associated with the foundation.

“We believe in not just helping kids with tennis lessons, but teaching them life skills and social values. This program perfectly blends with our ideology of using tennis as a powerful medium for social change and environmental protection,” he said.

The guest list for the event includes the Minister for Industry and Handicraft and Tennis Cambodia president Cham Prasidh, former health minister and THF president Dr Hong Sun Huot, Kep Governor Ken Satha and Cambodia International Education Support Foundation deputy chairperson Katsuhiro Shinohara.

This unique drive to raise environmental awareness in Kep, which is a popular tourist attraction, is well supported by the town municipality, rubbish collection company GAEA and the National Foundation of UNESCO Ambassadors in Japan.