World Oceans Day: African Cleanup Initiative, Access Bank sensitises public at Alpha Beach clean-up campaign
Ayodele Olalere
African Cleanup Initiative, in collaboration with Access Bank, on Saturday, June 11, 2022, marked the World Oceans Day at Alpha Beach, Lagos State with locals and volunteers from far and wide.
The exercise was a beach cleanup campaign aimed at sending a message and setting an example of how small actions taken by a small group of people can lead to big changes.
The theme for the 2022 World Oceans Day Event, “Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean,” was exemplified through this multi-industry collaboration.
The World Oceans Day event is organized annually to enlighten the public about the impact of human actions on the ocean and to establish a worldwide movement of citizens for the oceans.
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The cleanup event, which began at 9am, drew over 65 volunteers including community people who were all united in their pursuit of a common objective in spite of the downpour.
In her speech on behalf of the Chief Environmental Officer, Dr. Alex Akhigbe, Mrs Blessing Onyelekwe, Communications Manager for African Cleanup Initiative, drew the attention of the audience to the growing need to take urgent action to protect the oceans and marine life within them.
“It takes each and every one of us to make that conscious effort to bring an end to flooding and other environmental disasters,” she said.
On his part, the founder and Chief Environmental Officer of African Cleanup Initiative, Dr Alex Akhigbe, appreciated stakeholders and Access Bank for working together to ensure sure projects reached the most vulnerable communities,
“Rural communities contribute less to environmental pollution but are most at risk of the devastation it causes. It is an unfair reality, that is why the work we do with partners like Access Bank is important. Local communities need to be enabled to fight this crisis. This World Oceans Day is significant in this pursuit and we remain committed to the people, volunteers and community we serve,” he said.
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He emphasised that protecting our communities, oceans, environment, and the planet is a team effort that requires everyone’s participation.
At the end of the exercise which lasted till 12:45 pm, volunteers were given a “Green certificate’ as a demonstration of their dedication to contributing to a healthy environment.
The shorelines yielded a total of 384kg of solid waste and 60.2kg of recyclable waste at the close of the day.
Dr. Akhigbe further said African Cleanup Initiative is committed to establishing relationships that will help ‘local communities adapt, transform, and position themselves to combat the environmental and climate crises.’
‘We exemplify this by enabling hard-to-reach communities to take action to protect the sanctity of their environment while putting them on a path of self-sufficiency,’ he added.
Other organisations involved in the exercise include The Recyclers Association Of Nigeria (RAN), The Lagos Recyclers Association (LAGRA), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and WEVO.
