Dubai, June 21, 2008 (WAM) -- A two-day environmental protection campaign organized by Aswaaq, the public joint stock company under formation, has ended. The "Go Green" campaign was held on Thursday and Friday in the Nad Al Hamar area, the location of the first Aswaaq community centre due to open in October this year.
A large number of children and their parents from the Nad Al Hamar neighborhood participated in the events which include "Recycling Mania", and "Family Fun Day", which were held on June 19th and 20th respectively. In a key note address he delivered on the "Family Fun Day", which was held on Friday evening at the Nad Al Hamar School, Abdul Baset Al-Janahi, CEO of Aswaaq welcomed the participants. He said the event was a great success and beyond expectations. "This is evident in the maximum participation of the families living in Nad al Hamar, whose active participation in the event led to its great success," he added. He said the proactive participation of the people of Nad Al Hamar in the event reflects their sincere desire to keep their environment clean and protected. "This campaign is, basically, to instil this value in the children as we celebrate the World Environment Day, which is marked on June 5 of every year," he added. He said the campaign covered two days. "Day one which was set aside for Recycling Mania kicked off on June 19 with each participating family dropping off their recyclable items at one of the following drop-off points. Day two was set aside for the Family Fun Day, during which the participating children were rewarded with instant prizes," he explained. Each family in the Nad Al Hamar that got involved was made to choose a child in the family who can act as the family ambassador. The child was made to be responsible for collecting the familys garbage and ensuring that it gets dropped-off at one of the designated points. "By asking families to nominate one child as an ambassador, we hope that this will not only be a fun initiative for the children but will encourage them to think about recycling through their participation in this event, which, we believe, is the opener for other social events to be organized later by Aswaaq," Al Janahi further explained. The event was highly patronized by the people of Nad Al Hamar as parents mobilized their children to collect recyclable solid waste, like cans, plastic and paper materials and dumping them at locations designated by the Aswaaq centre, including Aswaaq Community Centre, Public Parking next to Al Rybat Rd, Nad Al Hamar School, and Sukayna School. These wastes are then collected for recycling. The Friday events include shows, games and music for all the family with competitions and instant prize draws for the children who participated in the Aswaaq-sponsored recycling initiative Recycling Mania. Winner of the first prize of the draw (grand prize) took home a one year scholarship, the second and third prize winners took home each a big size LCD TV, while the fourth prize winner was rewarded with a Sony Play Station gadget.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2008.
