NGO’s CLEAN UP ILLEGAL DUMP SITE IN KWARA

BRAIN Builder International, a Non-Governmental Organisation and We Are M.A.D (Making a Difference) Initiative, a voluntary youth organization, at the weekend held a cleaning exercise at an illegal dumpsite in Kulende area of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The Volunteers
The exercise brought together youth volunteers mostly students of the University of Ilorin and youths from the Kulende community.
Speaking during the exercise, the principal initiator of BBI, Mr Olasupo Abideen, a final year student of University of Ilorin, said they carried out the exercise to show by example the essence of cleaning the environment and to let the community know that it is everyone’s duty to participate in keeping the environment clean.
According to him, “Health begins at home and it is the responsibility of every resident to dump solid waste at designated sites. Most illegal dumpsites are created by waste generated from nearby houses in the community” and urged residents to desist from such act.
He said they also undertook the exercise to help inhabitants of area find solution to the problem of dumpsites in the community.
Miss Tony Joy, a graduate of  Obafemi Awolowo University and coordinator of We Are M.A.D, said the project has been carried out in Ondo State and now Kwara and will be extended to other States across the country as the vision is to see a dirt-free Nigeria by 2020.

Volunteers
She encouraged residents of the area to take charge and desist from unhealthy practice that can engender epidemic breakout.
Both organizers thanked the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA) and the State Ministry of Environment and Forestry for their support.
While appreciating the organizers of the project, the Youth coordinator, Kulende Community Development Association, Mr Yahaya Quadri, said they have done “very well” in cleaning the site, as it is an abandoned land by the Local Government and urged residents to desist from dumping refuse on the land.
He also urged the government to provide the community with a roro bin as houses cant afford to pay private contractors.