Samson Ayomide
Sub-Saharan Africa’s foremost sustainability consulting, advocacy and training enterprise, CSR-in-Action, has entered a partnership with It-Begins-With-U (IBWU) Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based out of Canada, led by a volunteer team passionate about bringing about positive attitudinal change in Nigerian communities. The team are working on a collective passion to give back to the community through sustainable environmental project leading to the birth of a core initiative of the partnership, inclusive of Junior Chamber International (JCI), a not-for-profit international non-governmental organization of young people between 18 and 40 years old, the Cleaner Communities Initiative (CCI).
The Cleaner Communities Initiative is aimed at driving cleaner neighbourhoods through encouraging individual acts of humanity. The initiative will run for 12 months during which participants embark upon and complete community cleaning exercises of their choice, and upload before and after videos of two minutes or less, in order to stand a chance of winning N100,000 per month. The Cleaner Communities Initiative aligns with Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is centered on sanitation, a green environment and healthy living for longevity of life. Goal 6 has particularly been adopted by Nigeria for national development.
Speaking on the partnership, Bekeme Masade-Olowola, Chief Executive, CSR-in-Action, stated that “We chose to partner with IBWU because we share the common vision that leadership is driven by citizens and CSR-in-Action is constantly pursuing innovative ways of positively influencing the values of the wider grassroots community in Nigeria.” As a sustainability consulting and advocacy company, we are keen on enhancing sustainable values and habits that contribute to the development of the country.
Mr. Michael Emeka Dibua, the Board Chair of IBWU, explained that the Cleaner Community Initiative is aimed at “ridding our communities, throughout Nigeria, of filth, by pushing for the return of simple, cleaner habits, and the removal and disposal of waste, especially as we are aware of the effects dirt and pollution has on our lives, climate, health, wellbeing and so much more.”