58 days, 1,205 kilometres and 26,000 kilograms of waste later, the founders of environmental organisation Sungai Watch complete their monumental fundraising ‘Run for Rivers’ from Bali to Java to fight plastic pollution in Indonesia.
The Bencheghibs are no strangers to drawing attention. Ever since brothers Gary and Sam kayaked down the Citarum River – once the most polluted river in the world – in vessels fashioned out of plastic bottles back in 2017, they have managed to keep a spotlight on Indonesia’s enduring waste crisis.
It was the mounting plastic pollution in Bali that initially mobilised the Bencheghibs, including eldest sister Kelly. Though French by birth, the siblings had grown up in Bali, and grown to cherish and care for the island deeply. Thus, they became driven to build global awareness of this persistent plastic problem.
When the pandemic hit, awareness shifted into action. Sungai Watch (sungai meaning river) was born in 2020 with a specific mission to stop plastic waste reaching the ocean through the use of river barriers – rivers considered the ‘arteries’ to the sea. To date the organisation has installed 368 barriers across Bali and Java, preventing over 4.5 million kilograms of waste from entering the ocean.
Their impact has had to continuously evolve: growing a team of 150 fulltime river warriors; developing nine sorting facilities to properly process the collected waste; and creating Sungai Design, a furniture company using upcycled plastic collected from the river, which helps to further fund Sungai Watch.
Despite their efforts and successes, Indonesia still remains one of the world’s largest contributors to ocean plastic pollution, sparking a renewed mission for Sungai Watch.
“Indonesia has a huge waste problem, and whilst international media is covering the problems in Bali, Java is the most densely populated island in the world – it has a bigger population than Russia,” shares Sam Bencheghib in an interview with NOW!, further explaining that the combination of the huge population and poor waste management infrastructure create the perfect storm.
So, the Sungai Watch team see the need to expand their operations on a major scale, with their eyes set across the Bali Straits to neighbouring Java. But to do that, they needed to do something big.
A Monumental ‘Run for Rivers’
The Bencheghibs return to what started it all: a major, head-turning spectacle to once again draw the necessary attention to the issue. This was the birth of ‘Run for Rivers’, an ambitious fundraising campaign involving the three founders/siblings running an ultra-marathon from Bali to Java – with the objective of raising $1 Million to fund expanding operations.
Kelly, Gary and Sam began their journey on Kedonganan Beach, Bali, on 28 March 2026, kicking off what would be 58 consecutive days of running 25 kilometres (on average) to reach the Indonesian capital. The siblings crossed the finish line on 24 May 2026, in front of Monas, Merdeka Square, Jakarta, completing a heroic 1,205 kilometre adventure, equivalent to 28 marathons. Whilst only three of them ran the entire route through 36 separate Indonesian regencies, they were never alone. Along the way, over 1,200 runners joined them in different cities and regions, building community awareness everywhere they went.
However, this was more than just a fundraiser and awareness campaign – it was also a research project. The run allowed the Sungai Watch team to see what the situation on the ground in Java is really like: to engage with local communities and leadership, conduct studies, collect data, review infrastructure (or lack thereof), and even do river clean ups along the way.
“We weren’t just running 25 kilometres a day. We had a team scouting clean up spots ahead of us, jumping into rivers, and working with communities,” Gary explains. “This run is helping us map the reality of waste and rivers across Java, so we know exactly where Sungai Watch needs to go next,” adds Kelly.
If the running wasn’t effort enough, the Sungai Watch team organised 24 river clean ups, mobilising 4,337 volunteers (60% of which were local students) to assist during the campaign, totaling over 22,000 kilograms of waste removed from polluted waterways.
“Java’s trash problem is a lot worse than Bali’s,” Sam shares with NOW! the night of completing Run for Rivers. “There’s essentially three options to deal with waste – throw it in the river, burn it, or dump it in some open site.”
The team interviewed thousands of everyday individuals along their route. Major discoveries included that 90% of households interviewed had no access to waste management, making rivers their only solution; and they documented 108 new illegal dumping sites. They shared their findings with Bupati, mayors, governors and politicians along the way too, hoping to raise the curtain on the problem and reprioritise waste management locally. In Jakarta, the founders also gained an audience with Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming at the Presidential Palace, where they were able to share their concerns and findings.
But the reality hit the founders hard: “We now understand that the problem is much, much bigger than we imagined. It requires a lot of funding, and a lot of systems thinking. But the people we’ve met have also given us hope.”
At time of writing, Run for Rivers has raised more than $320,000. Whilst the campaign fundraised has closed, you can still support Sungai Watch through their regular donation page, volunteer for cleanups or explore corporate partnerships.
To find out more, or support Sungai Watch:
IG: @sungaiwatch
www.sungaiwatch.com
Donation page: www.sungai.watch/products/donate
