An American Finds Fame, and Lots of Cockroaches, in Hanoi’s Mucky Storm Drains

Cleanup hobbyist hops into mucky storm drains to retrieve trash

By James Hookway
James.Hookway@wsj.com
@JamesHookway

June 2, 2016 12:04 p.m. ET

HANOI— James Kendall has a dirty way of having of fun that has made him one of Vietnam’s favorite Americans. ... Inching his way along a 4-foot-wide storm drain here in the nation’s capital one afternoon last month, the 34-year-old schoolteacher was hoping to map out some choke points caused by trash accumulating in the city’s underground waterways. ... “There’s some nasty stuff here,” Mr. Kendall said, his actions captured by a GoPro camera on his chest and a lamp on his head. “There’s some nasty stuff there, too.”
....

Mr. Kendall, from Springfield, Ohio, isn’t sure exactly why he is willing to jump into Hanoi’s canals and drainage systems. Besides the sheer yuck factor, there are the dangers of cuts from obscured debris or even leptospirosis, an infection spread by rats.

One inspiration may have been Ohio’s own history of environmental disasters. Another was the way tons of fish washed up dead along a 130-mile stretch of coast here in Vietnam in April, which prompted Mr. Kendall and many others to wonder how much economic growth the country can absorb before its environment starts feeling even more strain.

Mostly, though, Mr. Kendall said he has come to regard Vietnam as his second home and is tired of Hanoi’s worsening trash problem. “If you want positive results,” he said, “you’ve got to do something positive.”



Mr. Kendall has gained celebrity in Vietnam for his efforts to clear storm drains and other waterways. Photo: James Hookway/The Wall Street Journal