SDA cleans up parts of Accra

The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) last Sunday undertook a large scale clean-up exercise at a number of places in Accra.

The exercise, which began at about 6.30 a.m., involved the leadership and a cross-section of members of the church. They cleaned up areas around the Danquah Circle, the Teshie beach and Paladium at Bukom in Central Accra.

Other places the church cleaned included a cluster of basic schools in Sakumono and Russia, a suburb of Accra and parts of Ofankor.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Julius Debrah, was also engaged in the clean-up exercise. He led the church to desilt choked gutters, clear rubbish, sweep and clear cobwebs from school buildings.

The activity was part of the church’s support towards the national clean-up exercise which commenced on November 1, 2014.

‘We’re part of society’

 The President of the Southern Ghana Union Conference of the SDA, Pastor Samuel Larbi, addressing the media, said a clean environment was important in maintaining good health which was something that the church held dear.

“It is for this reason that when the government called on the public to engage in a national clean-up exercise, we found that it had a purpose that was in line with  the church’s objectives.

“But because we go to church on Saturdays, we have chosen the last Sunday of every month to clean our homes and surroundings,” he said.

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Churches can make a difference

He said it was the responsibility of religious bodies to be in the forefront of efforts to ensure that the environment was clean.

He said considering that Christians formed about 70 per cent of the Ghanaian population, if all churches joined the National Sanitation Day exercise, “we can make a big impact on society.

According to him, “The spiritual health of the people are linked to their physical well-being and as such it is hoped that by this exercise, our members of the SDA church and Ghanaians in general would be motivated to embrace the decision to clean their homes and surroundings.”

Pass legislations to check attitudes

Pastor Larbi expressed his worry over the poor attitudes of Ghanaians towards their surroundings, a factor which, he said, countered all efforts to maintain good health.

“People are fond of littering their surroundings and it is time that a legislation was passed to check such bad behaviour. We have to move away from cure to prevention,” he said.

Commendation

Mr Debrah, on his part, commended the leadership and members of the SDA for embracing the call for Ghanaians to get involved in the national clean-up exercise.

“If SDA has accepted to be part of the national clean-up exercise and encouraged its 750,000 members nationwide, then the church must be commended.

“Indeed, if all other churches would emulate the the example of the SDA, I believe we would not have environmental and sanitation problem facing the country today,” he said.