The exercise, which lasted for hours, was held at the beach just behind Jerma Beach Hotel, Kololi.

Standard Chartered Bank pledge to ensuring environment stewardship through specific projects which will have a positive impact on the societies where we live and work.

This clean up activity marks the forth environmental initiative carried out by Standard Chartered Gambia.

It will be recalled that in February 2008, 70 staff volunteers participated in an activity to clean areas around the Serrekunda Ccommunity. This activity was organised in partnership with the National Environment Agency and the Kanifing Municipal Council. The event took place during Malaria Week and aimed to complement the government’s efforts to clean the environment and eradicate malaria and other diseases.

In July 2008, SCB Gambia launched its green revolution under its environment plan by planting 16,000 trees at the Kabafita Forest Park. In collaboration with the Department of Forestry and the National Environment Agency, each member of staff planted 114 trees representing the number of years the bank has been operating in The Gambia.

In October 2008, the bank launched its Paper Recycling Initiative by donating over 200 used newspapers to the students of the Albion Lower Basic School.

This initiative provided the students with much needed reading material in order to contribute meaningfully to their education while ensuring environmental preservation.

For the bank CEO, Humphrey Mukwereza, “we aim to raise awareness among employees and wider stakeholders about the consequences of poor environmental stewardship and the importance of environmental protection through partnerships with the media, government and NGO’s. This is achieved through thought-leadership and through specific environmental initiatives like the activities we have embarked on in the past year”.