A short documentary about an activist from Sweden was enough to push Arta Ibishi-Citaku to completely dedicate herself to helping clean up the environment in her town of Mitrovica.

Ibishi-Citaku treads a different path to most of her fellow citizens, cycling through the streets and parks in Mitrovica and collecting litter she finds along the way. She told BIRN that since 2016, she has collected rubbish on the streets every day.

“I do something good for my country and it brings me pleasure,” she says proudly

Ibishi-Citaku started out alone in this endeavour, but has since been joined by more than 50 other activists, who carry out numerous activities aimed at keeping Mitrovica clean. They started with the local river, the Iber.

“I selected some people who have the will and can do good deeds,” Ibishi-Citaku told BIRN. “I wrote to them and asked them if we could get together and clean the Iber river bed.”

The activist added that the voluntary spirit in Mitrovica has made her proud. “I am very happy that in my city there are people who have the will and are eager to do good deeds,” she says. “And their number is increasing.”

This series of articles for BIRN is supported by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK.