The youth wing of the Western Regional chapter of the Ghana Red Cross Society has expressed readiness to collaborate with the government in fighting illegal mining also known as galamsey in the country.
The youth have regretted the havoc galamsey activities have caused in the region, the pollution of river bodies and the negative effect on the general well-being of small-scale miners.
To this end, the Red Cross youth have embarked on a health walk in the principal streets of Takoradi to sensitize the residents on the need to support the government’s efforts at ending illegal mining.
It was on the theme, “Stop Illegal Mining: Save our Water, Save our Lands, Save our Future”
The over four-hour walk saw participants – who were mostly students and Red Cross volunteers in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis, Shama and Ahanta West Districts – walk through the principal streets of Takoradi.
The participants, numbering over 1,000, demonstrated their support to end the galamsey canker with the various messages on placards they displayed during the annual health walk in Takoradi.
Some of the messages read, “Stop illegal Mining,” “Let’s save our environment for the future,” “Safe the environment; we all have a role to play,” “The future belongs to us, so save the water bodies,” and “Illegal mining is dangerous to us.”
Addressing the participants, the Regional Manager of the Ghana Red Cross Society, Matthew Boateng, asserted that the walk indicated the resolve of the regional youth wing of the society to join the efforts by the government, the media and civil society groups to end the illegal mining menace in Ghana.
He commended the government for the journey so far in tackling illegal mining activities and called for other organized bodies as well as individuals to join hands in the fight against galamsey.
“The youth are going to be affected severely a few years to come, if the current devastations caused to the environment by galamsey activities are not halted,” he cautioned.
Mr Boateng was happy that so far some positive results had been achieved as some polluted water bodies are becoming clean.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi