By Millicent Senava Mannah
Orange Sierra Leone, one of the telecommunications service providers operating in the country in partnership with Youth Alliance and Initiative for Innovation and Environmental Development, has on the 5th May, 2023 ended the commemoration of the Environment, Health and Safety Week by planting 3000 trees where the Mudslide occurred at Mortormeh Community in Regent,. The move was geared towards reducing flooding risks and land or mudslide susceptibility in Mortormeh and Freetown as a whole.
The loss of the trees canopy has directly affected catchment areas for water reserves, exacerbating the risks of landslides, flooding, and coastal erosion, and the loss of tree and vegetation cover also threatens biodiversity.
Giving an overview of the week, the Public Relations Officer of Orange SL, Mabel Mason, intimated that the week was set aside as part of their commitment towards preserving and ensuring that they protect the environment from climate change.
She continued that the week was also set apart to raise awareness among members of staff , stakeholders and the county as a whole about the impact of damaging the environment and how that can drastically affect their operations as humans.
The Public Relations Officer highlighted that during the start of the week they were taken through by an Environmental Protection Agency Representative on environmental health and safety and a host of other engagements throughout the week.
‘’This is a call to action for all, as long as you are a human being. The environment does not need us to survive, to succeed, to continue, we need the environment on the contrary. We cannot survive without the environment, but the environment can survive without you.’’
Mabel Mason maintained that, everyone has the responsibility to preserve the environment, do things that will encourage the continuation of human existence, and how they must not burn trees, admonishing that if trees are cut down they must ensure that they plant more trees.
She furthered that they must ensure they dispose their refuse the right ways adding that they must do all they can by preserving the environment saying by doing so they are also preserving their own lives.
National Olympic Committee President, Prince Sualley, commended the company for such a laudable venture, continuing that, they must ensure to protect the environment in order to prevent natural disasters like the mudslide that occurred in August 14th, 2017.
He stated that other companies or organizations should emulate such a venture, stating how the environment needs to be preserved for human existence to continue.
Chief Lansana Kamara, the Residual Chief of the Mortormeh community, applauded the company for undertaking the tree planting exercise and lamented over those who lost their lives during the tragic mudslide.
