African Minerals was part of this year’s World Environment Day, with a gleam of activities that culminated in the bringing together of school children to plant over 1,000 trees across its operations, north of the country.
Themed: ‘Green Economy: Does it include you?’, the ceremony early this month saw company officials at management level team up with the rest of its community relations department to champion the cause of reforestation. The hundreds of school children who came out on that day to learn some environmental lessons were carefully chosen from Samia Bendugu, Kalansogia and Kafe Simiria chiefdoms to plant trees like Acacia, Yemani, Cashew, Tombie and Moringer. General Manager mines operations, Jan Jansen, who took the lead, admonished school children to develop the passion of reliving the environment by planting as many trees as they can so that generations coming will live. He said: “When you plan for a year, you plant rice; you plan for ten years, you plant a tree but when you plan for a life time, you invest in the education of your children,” noting that education was an essential component of a successful future. The trees, he went on, if looked after properly would serve as a symbol of respect for the common good and would also serve as a pillar to build a strong partnership between government, communities and the company. He called school children to take their education seriously so that after many years they would be able to come back and serve their communities, adding that lives can be improved responsibly by looking after the environment. A representative of the forestry division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Alpha Lee, registered the importance of tree planting. He said protecting the environment was prominent on government’s agenda for change drive, while referring to the day’s event as a corrective measure to the aftereffect of mining in the country. Paramount Chief Alimamy Bockarie Yellan Koroma III of Kalansogoia chiefdom, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, observed that the environment has been exposed to a lot of dangers as a result of man’s activity. He noted that the exercise should serve as a landmark for better living and survival for mankind and animals, and registered his support to the venture while encouraged all to take it seriously. After the day’s job, AML treated all participants to a sumptuous meal and organised visits to St. George’s Junior Secondary School in Bendugu, the St. Matthew’s Secondary School in Bumbuna, the New Ferengbaia primary school in Kalansogoai, and the Benevolent Islamic Secondary School at Mabonto. The exercises ended at the 900-man camp, where senior staff members of AML had earlier taken up the challenge to planting trees.
