Accra, July 1, GNA - Tigo, one of the mobile telecom brands in the country, has launched a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative to provide support to communities in education, health and environment through partnerships with reputable organizations both in Ghana and in the rest of Africa.

The initiative, dubbed "Fraternity for Humanity", promises both proactive and reactive approaches to dealing with environmental, educational and health challenges facing communities across the country. Mrs. Anita Erskine-Amaizo, Corporate Communications Director of Tigo, said the primary focus of the initiative was education, which is the bedrock of the country's development, adding that environmental projects and health related issues also formed a significant part of the focus.

She said the organisations that Tigo would partner with in the delivery the goods under the fraternity for humanity package would include non-governmental organisations (NGOs), regulatory bodies, foreign missions in Ghana, state agencies, parliamentary caucuses and local community-based organizations. "It is our hope that these organizations will not only partner with us, but guide us to where the assistance is needed most - they are our eyes and ears," she said.

Mrs Erskine-Amaizo said in the areas of education and career development, for instance, Tigo and United Way Ghana (UWG), an NGO, are partnering with key community development organisations to give the youth access to one-on-one mentoring support, career and financial advice, and the chance to win scholarships for their first year in higher education. "The education initiative is aimed at harnessing the talents of students irrespective of their social background and supporting them in a self esteem-building exercise that uses staff members from Tigo satellite offices as their long-term mentors," she said. She said other projects include refurbishing and rebuilding of schools across the country.

Mrs Erskine-Amaizo said the environmental initiative was developed by the French Embassy with key support from Tigo and had a primary focus on teaching primary school students the importance of recycling. She said the project would take Tigo and the French Embassy to some public schools in the Jamestown, Madina, Nima and their environs, as well as to some schools in the northern sector. Mr Phillipe Courbet, Agricultural and Environmental Projects Coordinator at the French Embassy, said the partnership was necessary to make a difference in the adverse impact of plastic waste on global environment, saying that globally, over 500 billion plastic bags are used and disposed of annually.

"These bags take an average of 1,000 years to disintegrate but we can all contribute meaningfully if we simply change the way we dispose used plastic bags."

"We are going to make a difference with our initiative," he said. With regards to health, Tigo has joined forces with the Ear, Nose and Throat Department of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to purchase screening machines and aids. The company has also been providing funds for a variety of destitute patients, mostly children for the past three years. 01 July 09