Beach Samaritans,
the volunteer-driven initiative founded in October 2014 by Children And The Environment (CATE) and
WakaAbout Media to clean public
beaches across Nigeria is one. To commemorate the first year anniversary, there
will be an exhibition of photographs at Freedom Park in Lagos (Thursday
December 10 to Monday December 14) taken from the public beaches
cleaned so far.
Themed “Beauty and the Beach”, the anniversary celebration will also
feature awards to sponsors, outstanding volunteers, a bazaar and a
commemorative beach cleanup on Saturday December 12. In the past year Beach Samaritans volunteers have cleaned six public beaches in Lagos (Okun Alfa, Tarkwa Bay, Ibeshe Beach, Ilashe
Beach, Lekki Town Beach and Regal
Seaview Beach), making them neater and healthier for the host communities
as well as the leisure seekers who visit them.
Public
beaches in Nigeria are dirty, dirty to the point of distaste. And though they
are naturally attractive leisure and recreation spots, the human waste that
litter the beaches are not just a health hazard to the immediate communities,
they also affect the beaches’ potential to generate revenue for all levels of
government and allied businesses through big-budget investments.
It
is ironical that with more than 800km of coastline, no beach in the country
ranks among the Top 25 beaches in Africa. According to a recent report by the CNN, a leading cause of ocean/ beach
pollution are non-biodegradable plastics, bottles and metals produced by
manufacturers of consumer products. Nigeria is one of the worst hit
countries worldwide; the earlier we started to clear the trash, the sooner
we will make
them safer and healthier for the general public.
Beach Samaritans is a member of ‘Let’s do it World!’, ‘Cleanup
the World’, and Ocean Conservancy’, all environment-focused global
organisations.
Signed:
Pelu Awofeso (Co-Founder)
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