Accra, Dec. 7, GNA - International Volunteers, a UN agency, on Satur= day marked this year's International Volunteer Day with a clean-up exercise a= t Chorkor Beach in Accra. The exercise, which was in collaboration with Zoomlion and Zoil, environmental organisations, was to ensure good sanitation in the country= .. Some tertiary institutions such as Ghana Institute of Journalism, Zenith College, Maranatha, Regent University, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah Univcersity if Science and Technology, Nurses' Training College a= nd Africa University of College of Communication also joined in the exercise= .. Celebrity Ambassadors, made up of the hip life stars Sakordie, D. Bl= ack and Kweku T. were also there to grace the occasion.

During the clean up the volunteer team from Japan took the opportuni= ty to demonstrate to the people how to recycle plastic into other products. There were fun games after the clean up including beach football, ta= g of war and ludo which between the volunteer team and the people of the Chorkor community. United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, in a statement sai= d Volunteerism was a source of strength, resilience, solidarity and social cohesion. He said volunteerism can bring positive social change by fostering respect for diversity and equality among society's most vital assets. Mr Ban said the recent "seal the deal" and "volunteering for our planet", campaign were just the latest examples of how volunteers were helping to shape the word and added that the decisions and actions of individuals may seem insignificant in the face of global challenges. Ms. Hiroko Kodaka, United Nations Volunteer Programmes Officer, said=

volunteering was an essential element of civil society to make a signific= ant contribution. It was also a way of promoting social cohesiveness towards making a big difference to the lives of thousands of people. Ms. Kodaka noted that United Nations Volunteer (UNV) was the UN organization that contributed to peace and development through volunteeri= sm worldwide by advocacy, integration and mobilization. She said UNV in Ghana had worked with UN agencies in Ghana and presently had 21 UNV volunteers serving in Ghana and also working with others to build capacity at all levels. She emphasized the need for Ghanaians to volunteer for the developme= nt of their communities and nation.