News Release

Neighborhood Clean-Up - “Let’s Do It! Mushin”

On Saturday 15, September, 2012, the people of some parts of Mushin were surprised to see some group of youths suddenly appear to clean some of the very dirty places in the area.

Mushin a suburb of Lagos, is a largely congested residential area with a substantial part of it having inadequate sanitation and low-quality housing. It has more than 650,000 inhabitants at the 2006 Census.

Youths of ten non-governmental organizations, two governmental organizations and  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), came together with friends to embarked on a clean-up and greening activity tagged “Let’s Do It! Mushin”. The project was organized by “Children and the Environment” (CATE), a Non Governmental Organization committed to the well being of Children and the environment.

Ms. Shola Alamutu, Head of CATE, invited members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to participate in the program in recognition of the Church’s passion for public service projects and activities and having partnered together and with others in similar projects.

The project had nearly 100 participants and it lasted 4 hours.  Some of the members of the community who saw the free service rendered were very surprised that non-indigenes of their community could come out en mass to clean up their streets and clear blocked drainages.  The Chairman of Olaseinde Street Youth Association, Mr. Busayo Moreblessing commented: “since government cannot do everything for us, bodies like these must be appreciated and supported.”

As part of the program for this year, a member of “Let’s Do It!” in Estonia, Irita Raismaa, on a visit to Nigeria said she was happy to note that Nigeria has embraced the “Let’s Do It!” program.  She said that the program started in Estonia, her country, as a result of their forests being polluted with garbage and the cost of cleaning was too expensive for the government.  Let’s Do It! in Estonia decided to volunteer and clean up the entire forests, leading to the gathering of over ten thousand tons of garbage.  Thereafter, other countries joined using different patterns; and today, it has become a worldwide program.  She said “this is about ordinary people not blaming government …, just doing something good for their environment …” She continued, “don’t blame anyone, if you are concerned about your environment, don’t accuse anyone, just let’s do it!”

The convener, Ms. Shola Alamutu thanked all organizations especially, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “the only religious body” among the participants.  Irita Raismaa later installed Biodun Bakare who led the church delegation as a “Let’s Do It!" Ambassador among others.

Organizations that participated include Mushin Local Government, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Committee for Relevant Art, Keys to Wellness. Others are, The Pillars Club of Lagos, Youth Vision Alliance Network, Positive Development Foundation, Youth Pioneers for Development and Club Green International, Red Cross Society (Mushin Division), Harvest Foods and Olaokeycity Project.

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