Five villages — Dandan, Kagman, Tanapag, Susupe and China Town — have regular cleanups and neighborhood watch groups, according to Rep. Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan.
A resident of Kagman, Deleon Guerrero said Dandan now tops the list of the most active villages in cleanup and neighborhood watch activities.
But Kagman is closing in as the number of residents joining the cleanup in their village continues to grow, he added.
Last Saturday, Deleon Guerrero and block chairman Glenn Dikito led 14 residents in a village cleanup.
Despite the rain, the three groups of Kagman volunteers conducted a cleanup.
Equipped with machetes and bush cutters, they cleared abandoned lots of grass, overgrown bush and other vegetation.
Dikito said their purpose is not only to clean up the village but also “to deter crimes.”
He recalled that in the past, abandoned houses usually covered by tall grasses served as “storerooms” of stolen items before they were sold.
When asked who among them had been victims of burglary, five of the volunteers, including Dikito, raised their hands.
Dikito noted that crime victims are among the most active volunteers in the village.
He hopes that the spirit of volunteering for cleanup events will “touch” the other members of the community, even if they’re not crime victims.
“We hope to get very active and see more neighbors involved,” Dikito said.
