Sterling Bank PLC said it is engaging more youths in its multi-city beach cleanup exercise which started recently with the cleaning of the Alpha Beach in Lagos recently.
The scheme initiated by the Managing Director and CEO of the bank, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, has youths as members of the initiative’s board of governance.
At the flag-off, the CEO of Sterling One Foundation, Mrs Olapeju Ibekwe, said the event which adopted a beach will empower the youths and women in coastal communities.
The initiative will also provide an alternative source of income for the communities and ensure that the beach gets cleaned every week for the next one year at the minimum.
She added that the project is also aimed at addressing a minimum of seven of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She said N3 million was raised with N1.3m donation from individuals contributing from N500 and above via a crowd funding platform of the foundation while corporate bodies contributed the balance.
“We will get human resources from the coastal communities, train and empower them on how to clean beaches in a way that their health and safety are guaranteed while ensuring that the recycling of the waste is done properly. They will also be given the responsibility of cleaning these beaches every week and paid for the next one year.”
Taiwo Adewole, a member of the governance board and Executive Director of Recycle Points, a waste recycling and social benefit venture in Lagos, said the initiative will empower the coastal communities and provide input for some of the over 40 recycling companies in Lagos.
