Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in the Church’s eleventh annual All Africa Helping Hands Service Project, this time cleaning the environment at three strategic locations in the Calabar Metropolis.
Latter-day Saints cleared gutters, evacuated waste and cut and weeded bushes behind the governor’s office and at the premises of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Psychiatric Hospital.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
This was a joint service project, bringing together Church members from the Calabar Nigeria South Stake and Calabar Nigeria Stake (a stake is a group of Latter-day Saint congregations).
“It is the height of sincerity by any public institution,” said Engr. Mike Eraye, Commissioner for Environment, during the closing exercise. “Government is so impressed at your commitment, especially the involvement of youth. This shows that family bond is strong in the Church and inculcate in the youth a sense of responsibility and leadership.”
Eraye also commended the Church for embarking on such a project without attaching a fee.
Dr. Idiang Efeng Idiang, the Deputy Director of Waste Management who represented the commissioner, stated the back of the governor’s office and the premises of the Ministry of Finance have long been in need of helping hands to improve esthetics of the environment. He explained the choice of the two sites was highly commendable and appreciated.
Spokesman for the two stakes, President Victor Offiong Bassey of the Calabar Nigeria Stake, told the government house press the Helping Hands project was a responsibility of the Church to support the efforts of the governments and social institutions wherever the Church resides and to guarantee cleanliness of the environment. He explained that cleanliness is next to Godliness.
“We have not relented in our effort at forging meaningful partnerships with governments and social institutions,” President Bassey said. “Last year we donated 56 pints of safe blood to the National Blood Transfusion Service Centre in Calabar and embarked on clearing the Big Qua and Ikpai cemeteries. It is an annual event to reach out and to be of help to each other. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the governor’s office, the premises of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Psychiatric Hospital.”