04 June,2024 06:14 PM IST | Mumbai | Oshin Fernandes
Rochelle Rao and Keith Sequeira with their daughter Josephine Pic/Instagram
World Environment Day 2024: When power couple Rochelle Rao and Keith Sequeira took their baby girl Josephine for a beach cleanup drive in Mumbai's Juhu, they said that the seashore holds an extremely sentimental value to them as a family, and reviving it into its full glory is what they aim as champions of climate change. In an exclusive interaction with mid-day.com, the duo speaks about saving the environment by doing their bit and more.
The trio arrived at the Juhu beach at 7 am to support EcoRevive - the group that led the initiative. Keith said, "We wanted to introduce her at a very early age to what it means to be aware of your environment and sort of inculcate it. It's not a serious thing. It's just like fun, but it's a very serious issue."
"All of these issues, when you have a child, become way more real to you because you're like, âWhat is the world that I have brought my child into?' And âWhat is she going to have left?'" added Rochelle.
Rochelle and Keith also revealed that EcoRevive commenced its journey in the same month Josephine was born - October, and the day she came into this world a tree was planted in her name in Kerala. "We want her also to just make it a habit of taking care of the planet," shared the couple.
Rochelle and Keith tied the knot in 2018. The former Miss India revealed that for the wedding which was held at the beach, she walked down the aisle barefoot. "The beach is where our heart is. When I see the beach in this state, in my city, I feel like it's 100 percent my responsibility to do something about it. It's 10 minutes away from my house and it's a few hours of my time. So, this is close to my heart," she concluded.
After the quick chat, Rochelle and Keith put on their t-shirts and gloves and dug out all the trash trapped in the sand. Rochelle's frown and concern were visible as she pointed out the beautiful shells and the heaps of plastic around asking which of the two belonged there. The two also interacted with NSS volunteers who arrived for their cleanup drive, with Rochelle encouraging the young lot, and emphasising that there is no "Planet B".
