Rite Foods, the market leader in Nigeria’s food and beverage sector, has thrown its weight behind the environmental conservation initiative of PoPbeachclub’s “riteonthebeach”, which promotes the collection of ocean plastics on beaches for recycling with the proceeds funding scholarships of children in the communities.
The social enterprise initiative by PoPbeachclub sets up recycling ecosystems in coastal communities that lack disposal infrastructure and have high rates of pollution and poverty, and trains the youths in the beach communities in green jobs, environmental services, tourism as well as entrepreneurship to work in jobs created on the island and other coastal areas of Lagos.
The project, which is also intended at riding Nigerian beaches of plastic waste that adversely affects aquatic lives, marine activities as well as a healthy environment, was embarked upon at the Ilashe Beach in Lagos, where more than a ton of plastics was recovered for recycling, in partnership with Omnik Limited Polyethylene converters.
Commenting on the sponsorship of the “riteonthebeach” scheme, Rite Foods Managing Director, Mr Seleem Adegunwa stated that the company would continue in its giant stride to support worthy platforms aimed at ensuring the well-being of Nigerians as demonstrated in the PoPbeachclub Scholarship Programme for children in beach communities. This, he said, would increase literacy and empowerment through employment.
‘Our support, I believe, would help in sensitising the inhabitants of Ilashe on the importance of having a clean environment, creating jobs, supporting grassroots education and economic growth in communities around the shores of Lagos’, Adegunwa said.
On his part, the Founder of the Lagos Eco-Resort PoPbeachclub, Mr Akin Disu, remarked that 1.5 million plastics were collected at the recent Ilashe Beach Clean-up for recycling in conjunction with Omnik Limited. He further said that the gains would be used as scholarship for 1,800 children as well as12,000 community impact.
Rite Foods trained 30 children in Ilashe community, an initiative that got Disu’s commendation. He said that ‘the company’s immense support has us the willpower to do this because they underwrite the risks involved and makes the initiative easy for execution’.
Disu added that with the “riteonthebeach” project, PoPbeachclub has been able to establish a Momsch School, a grassroot-based learning system that engages parents in communities to share their knowledge of local languages; an Ocean School, a three-year project creating a cyclical, ethical ecosystem based around education and ocean plastic; and Club School, a grassroot-based capacity building initiative, providing vocational training, up-skilling and entrepreneurial guidance in the community focused on young adults and services in the hospitality and tourism sector.
