Favour Madu, middle orange vest, and other volunteers clear debris from the shoreline near Lagos, Nigeria.
By Favour Madu, president of the District 9110 alumni association
Reconnect Week 5-11 October reminds us to keep the many participants and beneficiaries of Rotary programs close to us so we can all enjoy the benefits of this extended Rotary family! Our alumni association, like others, strives to build these bridges all year long.
Last November, our past district governor Dele Balogun, Basirat Giwa, and I were all actively involved in a variety of service activities in Ibeshe in Ikorodu, Lagos, Nigeria, geared towards disease prevention and healthy living. We were supported by Rotarians of Ikorodu Golden and Ikorodu Metropolitan clubs. Together with other volunteers from the local Primary Healthcare Centres and members of the densely populated community along the river, we cleared debris and garbage that built up over a long period of time along the shoreline.
With further help from officials of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, the garbage was hygienically and safely collected for evacuation to a dump site. Our main objective was to clean up our environment and prevent malaria – by eliminating the stagnant water that mosquitoes breed in – and other water-borne diseases.
It is an annual initiative of our association to support the government’s efforts to improve the health of our citizens, especially in the face of our growing population.
We also took part in a medical outreach, where patients had their vision screened, were prescribed medicines, and given long lasting Insecticide treated nets to prevent malaria. We also gave out reading glasses to the over 600 beneficiaries.
It was indeed a fulfilling and impactful outing, and one way we endeavor to reach out to alumni and keep them engaged.
https://blog.rotary.org/2020/10/08/rotary-alumni-join-members-to-clean-up-river/