(Left) Maxwell Adjei, NNF carving instructor and sculptor, presenting a carved artifact from driftwood collections to the president of the Columbus Council on World Affairs, Patrick Terrien.
Nurture Nature Foundation (NNF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is working in collaboration with the Columbus Council on World Affairs to make carvings and artifacts from driftwood collection from the oceans in restoring marine sanctity.
The collaboration was struck when the President of the Columbus Council on World Affairs, a NGO in the United States, paid a working visit to the NNF in Jamestown, a suburb of Accra.
The visit was also aimed at understanding the scope and impact of activities on the environment, and exploring opportunities for partnership and collaborations towards tackling global issues in trade, security, environment, health and population.
The director of operations for NNF, Peter Asiedu, expressed hope for a sustained development partnership with the Columbus Council on World Affairs. That, he indicated, will help in realizing the common vision of positive partnerships in protecting coastal communities within Ghana and beyond.
NNF commitment
Mr Asiedu reaffirmed commitment of NNF in promoting cultural and social interventions to drive positive community growth, while restoring ecosystem sustainability.
“NNF works with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 6, 10, 14, 15, 16) with a wide range of local and global partners and stakeholders to ensure the realization of objectives of providing a platform for coastal development with concentration on sustainable coastal careers and livelihoods, coastal cultural values, equity, and gender representation within coastal communities of Ghana,” he stated.
He noted that NNF is instilling sound waste management regimes in the coastal area of Jamestown in Accra through community sensitization, awareness creation, volunteerism, and regular ocean beach clean-ups to free the beaches of debris, thereby promoting healthy shoreline microhabitats.
The NNF director of operations revealed that his outfit provides sculpture and carving training to school drop-out children, saying “ where monies generated from the sale of plastic waste is used to provide meals to motivate these children”.
He revealed that the project’s programmes focuses on the reuse and upcycle of marine plastics and driftwood retrieved from beach clean-ups into crafts, artifacts, and sculptures of cultural, social, recreational, and economic value.
Marine sanctity
According to him, NNF embarks on frequent beach clean-ups and proper waste management in reducing the amount and impact of plastics on marine life.
For his part, the President of the Columbus Council on World Affairs, Patrick Terrien, said the Council focuses on building young people’s awareness and skills needed to take action on a global issue and to become responsible global citizens.
“Young people acquire training and knowledge within a wide range of global cultures, issues, and careers where they develop competencies and experience to provide solutions while building their awareness of the diverse traditions, experiences, skills, problems, and solutions that exist around the world,” he said.
Mr Terrien said the Council envisages expanding its reach in Ghana to grant young people the opportunity to apply global competency and skills to develop and execute action projects that meaningfully impact communities.
He stressed the need for action projects that instill global competence and experience, hence fostering a global community that is well-informed to tackle global issues like climate change, marine plastics and child trafficking.
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