We joined the United Nations to serve. To make a difference. To improve lives.

For many of us, this involves meetings, writing documents, and spending hours in front of a screen.

Doing this work, day in and day out, can lead to a hunger to be closer to the impact and see the difference in real time. 

Many of us are also hungry to have a closer connection with our communities. 

Hing Sang Sang Together

Turning these thoughts over in our heads eventually led to a new idea in Bhutan. We call it Hing Sang Sang Together.

It means "Clean Together” in Dzongkha, the national language.

The concept is simple. Every three months, the Office of the Resident Coordinator (RCO) invites the UN staff in Bhutan to tidy up public areas and pick up rubbish.

We meet in a public location, put on our "UN-bling" (i.e. a fancy blue UN cap, UN logo t-shirts, etc.) and get to work. 

We always team up with local partners, like the local council or a small NGO. We usually provide tea and snacks.

We bond with colleagues and partners outdoors while serving our communities.

Serving our communities

Sometimes special guests join, including the Prime Minister of Bhutan on one occasion, who got down on his hands and knees and picked up rubbish from the gutter.

At other times, we’ve had thousands of volunteers.

“Hing Sang Sang Together reminds us why we serve. With humility, integrity, and action," says UN RCO staff member Tshering Palden, who leads the initiative.

In June, our friends from the UN in Indonesia also joined and picked up rubbish in a display of regional solidarity.

So far, Hing Sang Sang Together has picked up more than 2 metric tonnes of rubbish (about 230 medium-sized rubbish bags) and mobilized more than 1,000 people.

“It’s a real buzz to join our friends and do something useful,” says Tim Wilson, Head of the RCO Bhutan.

Most importantly, it has built a sense of solidarity and shared purpose among staff.  It is another example of the repositioned development system in action. 

We would love to partner with you.

If you are interested in collaborating with UN Bhutan on this initiative, or doing your own version of it, please reach out to Tim Wilson (RCO Head of Office) at timothy.wilson@un.org.