23 November 2006

Zwedru, Liberia: Over 1,000 people, including UNV and local volunteers, participated in a clean up campaign initiated by UNV in Liberia on 17 November.
The one-day campaign was launched by UNV Programme Officer Ilaria Carpen and Programme Manager Olufemi Olugbemi at the city hall of Zwedru. Grand Gedeh County’s superintendent Chris Bailey, Mayor Ophelia Geedy, and UNV volunteers based in the city also attended the event.

Community volunteers from various youth groups and associations were dispersed in nine zones and supervised by UNV volunteers.

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the UN Development Programme provided a truck to help collect waste and distributed cleaning tools to the volunteers.

The campaign was aimed at sensitizing Zwedru’s communities on the impact of volunteerism and commitment while contributing to environmental protection.

"We want to let people understand that with motivation and willingness we can make a change" said Ilaria Carpen, UNV Programme Officer.

"Join the group - be a volunteer!" was the message that was spread at the end of the initiative. Brooms, gloves, rakes and barrels utilised for the cleaning campaign were officially donated to the Municipality of Zwedru.

The UNMIL Director of Administration of Zwedru, Joe Mshindo, officially thanked all the UNV volunteers for having organized the symbolic event and underlined the importance of voluntary engagement.

County superintendent Bailey cherished UNV’s innovative approach, announcing to follow-up the initiative. Mayor Geedy emphasized her gratefulness for the “face lift” that was given to her city. "Zwedru needs everything it can get to clean the city", she stated.

The event is in line with Liberia’s International Volunteer Day (IVD) theme. For IVD, organizers are planning to hold a tree planting and a “cleaning marathon” around the university campus in the capital Monrovia.

The event was broadcasted over Radio Smile, a local station and UNMIL radio.