THE Tamale Metropolitan Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Hajia Abiba Kassim, has entreated residents of Tamale to keep the city clean.
According to her, the continuous choking of drains and haphazard disposal of waste could block the flow of water and this could cause floods and other disasters.
The co-ordinator was speaking to the residents during a clean-up exercise at the Shekhina Clinic at Gurugu, a suburb of Tamale, as part of activities to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which was marked globally on October 13.
The clean-up exercise was organised by NADMO with support from the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA), Zoomlion Ghana and some community members of Gurugu.
The theme for this year’s disaster reduction campaign was “Making cities resilient: My city is getting ready”. The objective of the celebration was to engender a broader partnership between disaster management organisations, local government institutions and communities to find sustainable solutions to mitigate the occurrence of disasters.
Hajia Abiba later donated a quantity of used clothing to the clinic for distribution to the patients, most of whom were paupers being cared for by the clinic.
The Shekhina Clinic offers free medical services to deprived and disadvantaged people, including cured lepers, psychiatric patients and people living with HIV and AIDS.
The owner of the clinic, Dr David Abdulai, thanked the organisers and participants for undertaking the exercise, noting that this would help keep the surroundings of the health facility clean.
He said the used clothing would be distributed to the patients of the clinic and people under his care, who numbered about 3000.
In a related development members of the Northern Drama and Film Makers Association (NORDRAFIM) have embarked on a clean-up and blood donation exercises at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH). Reports Vincent Amenuveve.
They swept and weeded the premises of the hospital and cleared choked drains.
Forty out of the 628 members of NORDRAFIM volunteered and donated blood to the Blood Bank of the hospital.
The exercise formed part of the association’s social responsibility programme. It was organised with support from Zoomlion Ghana Limited and Water Sachet Producers in the metropolis.
Briefing the media on the exercise, the President of NORDRAFIM, Mr Zakaria Saaka, said the association had over the years engaged in educating residents of the metropolis and the entire region on social vices through drama and films.
According to him, the members have also tasked themselves to eradicate chieftaincy, political, religious and ethnic differences among residents to promote peace.
“We are also more than ready and intend to participate in any self-help project and I can stand here to boast our achievements in the reduction of child labour, HIV and AIDS and teenage pregnancy prevention and promotion of political tolerance,” he stated.
Mr Saaka further pointed out that as one of the major tools in communication, drama and film should not be under-rated but given the needed recognition.
“We have realised that for the past few months we have been experiencing fatal accidents on our roads and so this blood donation is to support the blood bank to enable the unit to save lives,” the President further explained.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the TTH, Dr Ken Sagoe, thanked NORDRAFIM for the gesture and said the group was one of the best organised groups to undertake the exercise.
“I am happy about the turnout and I must say this is a good initiative that other social groups should emulate,” Dr Sagoe stated.
According to him, the combination of the clean-up and blood donation by the association was the first of its kind to be embarked upon by a single group.
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