As the world marks World Environment Day today, waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Ltd, has partnered with the Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Minerals Commission to deepen awareness about the destruction wrought by the lack respect for the environment.

The one-day event held at Winneba in the Central Region was themed, "Connecting People to Nature".

It was organised by the Centre for School and Community Science and Technology Studies (SACOST) in collaboration with Change Attitude Ghana.

The event was also used to launch the Zoomkids Club in Winneba. Zoomkids is a sanitation-focused club in about 400 basic schools across the country.

National Coordinator of Zoomlion Foundation, the corporate social responsibility wing of both Zoomlion and the Jospong Group of companies, Mrs. Sarah Kyei, explains the launch of the Club in Winneba was timed to coincide with the World Environment Day to send a strong message.

She adds that sanitation clubs are necessary to drive home the message of a clean environment into children, revealing that 15 schools have been nominated to benefit from the Zoomkids Club project. 

The Zoomlion Foundation also donated a dustbin to each of the 15 schools.

“We are hoping that with the launch of the Zoomkids Club, children in Winneba will embrace the culture of good environmental sanitation practices so that together we can wage the war against littering the environment,” she said.

Members of the Zoomkids Club serve as ambassadors for sanitation improvement through peer education. They also interact with other students through the network of over 400 schools. Beneficiary schools occasionally receive sanitation improvement logistics from the Zoomlion Foundation to organise cleanup activities to maintain a clean school environment.

External Relations and Communications Officer at the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Romeo Adogla, who delivered a speech on behalf of the Director responsible for External Relations and Environment at the Chamber, Ahmed Nantogmah, said the Chamber considers the celebration of the World Environment Day as essential to the transformation of Ghana’s poor sanitation record as it serves as a key reminder to all and sundry about the need to pay attention about how the environment is treated.

Romeo Adogla

“We believe that our desire for a clean environment represents a powerful sense of destiny and hope for the future... a clean environment that includes clean air, water and land is essential for human existence, conducting business and creating wealth. So clean air, water, land and energy must be sustained through conservation and proper management through effective policy implementation by the government,” he said.

Director of Shape Attitude Ghana, Wonderful Baisie Ghartey, noted that environmental awareness education must be initiated to students from the basic school level.

He reveals his organisation is partnering the Zoomlion Foundation to establish sanitation clubs in schools of the Efutu district in the Central Region,

A representative of the Municipal Chief Executive, Mrs. Adwoa Amofa, urged the students to practice good sanitary habits.