3NGOS, VODAFONE EMBARK ON TREE PLANTING (PAGE 42, SEPT 27, 2010)

THREE non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region, with support from Vodafone Ghana Limited, have embarked on a tree-planting programme to enhance afforestation in the area.
The NGOs, namely Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC), the Centre for Traditional Governance (CTG) and the Zuuri Organic Vegetable Farmers Association (ZOVFA), have together planted 9,090 seedlings, comprising grafted mangoes, kapok, mahogany, cashew, teak, acacia.
The exercise was under a project dubbed: “Green Mobile Communities Project” (GMCP), which is also targeted at protecting water bodies at Binaba and its environs as well as providing subsistence incomes for members of the beneficiary communities.
Giving an overview of the project, the chief of Binaba, Naba Moses Abaare, who is also the Executive Director of CTG, said the project was developed in response to issues of environmental protection and climate change, as well as the increasing need for farming communities to find more sustainable ways to farm.
He explained that the GMCP idea was born out of the interest of the five key players.
Naba Abaare, who is also the former District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bawku West, said in order to sustain the project, the implementing organisations had evolved several strategies including the effective and continuous sensitisation of the communities, especially the key actors, on the need for the project.
He said key technical departments like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Resource Commission, Forestry Services Division of the Forestry Commission as well as the District Assembly, had been brought on board to ensure its successful implementation.
“Provision of technical skills such as tree nursery management/seedling production, mango grafting and fruit tree production, will constitute various ways of generating income for community members some of whom presently operate along the banks of some rivers and streams,” Naba Abaare stated.
The Corporate Responsibility Manager of Vodafone Ghana, Ms Mamle Asare, said her outfit’s involvement in the project was in recognition of its social responsibility to protect the environment in which it operated.
“Vodafone as a major player in the telecommunication industry, deemed it necessary to support this initiative since the company has always demonstrated its commitment to issues on environment because it understands the importance of the environment to the sustainability of its business,” she said.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, who launched the project, commended the four organisations for coming together to protect the environment.
She charged members of the beneficiary communities to take part in the exercise to enhance afforestation and improve livelihoods.