Staff volunteers of MTN Ghana have undertaken a clean up exercise at the South La Beach in Accra and some selected beaches and water bodies in the regions, as part of this year’s 21 Days of Yello Care programme. The exercise was also used to mark this year’s World Oceans Day which was celebrated today. About 500 staff volunteers of MTN Ghana and some residents of the communities took part in the exercise. Other water bodies which where cleaned include; Bakano and Intsin Beaches in Sekondi Takoradi, Lake Bosomtwe in Kumasi and the Baakunia Ba stream in Sunyani. In addition to the clean up exercise, staff also used the opportunity to educate members of the communities to act more responsibly by keeping the water bodies clean to promote good health and attract tourists. MTN Ghana appreciates the role the environment plays in the sustenance of businesses. It therefore sees the need to dedicate this year’s 21 days of community outreach programme to embarking on activities that will help preserve the environment for future generations. In her address, the Executive Director of the MTN Ghana Foundation, Mrs. Mawuena Trebarh said, “we are always focused on the issue of environmental and social sustainability in respect of our business model for the benefit of our society. We are committed to making a positive impact on the environment through our commitment to giving back to the communities in which we operate.” The CEO of MTN Ghana, Michael Ikpoki, remarked that MTN shares concern for the protection of our oceans and other water bodies. “The environmental focus of this year’s Y’ello Care programme is in line with the United Nation’s declaration of 2011 as the “International Year of the Forest’, hence MTN Group’s global theme ‘Making a Positive Difference to the Environment’,” he said. He was not happy that Ghana’s forests have experienced drastic depletion from 8 million to 1.8million hectors over the last two decades saying “MTN has therefore committed itself to grow 9,000 tree seedlings out of the 21,000 being planted across the 21 MTN operating countries”. Mr. Ikpoki thanked the Ministry of Defence, Lands Commission, Zoom Landscape and Beautification, the Ministry of Lands and Forestry, the Forestry Commission and the Wildlife society for their partnership with MTN to achieve their target of planting the 9000 trees at mount Afajato, Burma camp and other areas across the entire country. Other activities scheduled to take place within the 21 days of Yello Care include: planting of trees around some selected water bodies, environmental awareness campaign in selected Secondary Schools and a football gala. The 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative was instituted by the MTN Group President and CEO in 2007 to give all MTN employees an opportunity to contribute towards improving the welfare of their communities. It has now become a prominent feature on MTN’s calendar, and is also one of MTN’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes driven by the MTN Foundation. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana