From Tony John, Port Harcourt, Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving across the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State on Saturday embarked on massive environmental sanitation exercise to keep the State clean and improve the overall health of citizens.
The cleaning was carried out to mark the 2024 NYSC National Environmental Sanitation Exercise with the theme: Clean Environment and Good Hygiene: Panacea for Good Health and Long Life.”
The exercise featured cleaning of the LG Council headquarters, major markets and motor parks in the 23 LGAs of the State simultaneously.
At Obio/Akpor LG Council headquarters, venue for the official flag off the exercise in the State, Rivers State NYSC Coordinator, Mr. George Mfongang, represented by the Assistant Director, Community Development Service (CDS), Mr. Barnax Uloneme, described the sanitation exercise “as a way by which the NYSC Scheme gives back to the society.”
He explained that the NYSC Scheme as a leading light of youth organizations in the world was primed to shine her light for others to see and emulate the importance of a clean and healthy environment for all and sundry.
Mfongang emphasized that the exercise would deepen the relevance of the Scheme in the hearts and minds of Nigerians.
Corps members across the 23 LGAs of the State worked tirelessly in opening up blocked drainages, sweeping, cutting of grass as well as proper evacuation and disposal of generated waste materials.
Similar exercise was also carried out at Oregbeni in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State
The state Coordinator of the scheme, Mrs. Ben-Ushie Frances IFeoma, while flagging off the campaign, said the exercise was a prompt response to reports from the scheme’s Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD) programme which highlighted a disturbing trend, such as poor sanitation and hygiene as major causes of diseases in the state.
The same concern, She noted, had also been echoed by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, pointing out the great consequences of poor sanitation on diseases, disability and death.
Mrs. Ifeoma said corps members, as a change agent, had been notified of the dangers associated with poor sanitation and therefore decided to improve the lives and the living conditions of the people at the grassroots level by participating in the sanitation exercise at the Oregbeni Market.
“I urged everyone here, community leaders, market traders and residents to join us in this vital endeavour because a clean environment is not only aesthetically pleasing but also essential for our health, she posited.