DARLY GRAPHIC, Saturday, February 25, 2012, Pg.18. SDA church organises clean-up exercise

Some members of the church sweeping along a principal street



 Story: Mary Ankrah

 Some members of the South Ghana Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists Church (SDA) cleaning some principal streets of the Accra as part of activities, marking the 125th anniversary celebration of the church, which is next year.

The members, led by their pastors cleaned drains and gutters, weeded, swept and collected garbage from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area to the La Hospital.
The exercise was held in partnership with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Zoomlion.

According to the President of the SDA Church in Ghana, Pastor Samuel Adama Larmie, the church believes in quality health and the exercise would help ensure a healthy environment. 
Pastor Larmie said the exercise also formed part of the church’s social responsibility and that in their preparation toward the anniversary the church intended to organise such cleaning exercises throughout the country.

The Mayor of Accra, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, who joined the church in the exercise, used the opportunity to affirm the assembly’s readiness to enforce its environmental and sanitation by-laws and prosecute offenders.
He said there was the need for the assembly to formulate strategies that would sustain cleanliness and added that this could be done with the effective participation of the youth.

He, therefore, urged the youth and churches to assist the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to ensure cleanliness since that was the assembly’s priority.

Dr Vanderpuije also commended the SDA Church for joining hands with the AMA to keep the city clean as part of its anniversary celebration.

The President of the South Ghana Conference of the SDA, Pastor Anthony Kessie, said it was about time that church activities were not limited to the spiritual growth of members but rather extended to benefit the society.

“We are all citizens of the country and apart from seeking our spiritual well-being we must also think of our physical development and play our part in building the nation," he said.