To further express its commitment to empowering women, youths and building sustainable communities, The Coca-Cola Foundation has given a grant worth $100,000 to MEDIC towards implementing a Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE).
In 2016, retired English sailor, Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, revealed that by the year 2050, there will be more plastics in our ocean than fish. This does not seem far-fetched as Nigeria currently generates an estimated 32 million tons of solid waste per year, one of the highest amounts in Africa. Of this staggering figure, plastic constitutes 2.5 million tons.
The Coca-Cola Company recognizes the persistent issue of plastic waste disposal in the world, and even more so in Nigeria. The company is currently running a World Without Waste program which seeks to not only educate people on waste disposal but also to work with relevant stakeholders such as MEDIC to improve plastic waste disposal and recycling procedure.
Speaking on behalf of The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) on the grant awarded to REWAYE, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe said,
“What RESWAYE does, focuses on two crucial passion points for us at Coca-Cola which are Women Empowerment and Sustainable Waste Management. We recognize the importance of preserving our environment and we are passionate about empowering women to reach their full potential. For this reason, we are excited to be partnering with MEDIC on this.”
It has been revealed that there are twice as many women below the poverty line than men, and up to 19 times as many men in executive positions than women in Nigeria. As a result of this, a considerable amount of effort is being put into Female empowerment in Nigeria. This will no doubt complement our efforts on our 5 by 20 programme.
Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children (MEDIC) is an NGO focused towards building sustainable environment and oceans through improved education and job creation for more resilient communities. They stand for growth and are passionate about what they do for communities especially towards plastic pollution, recycling and empowering women.
We are proud to partner with them on the Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE) to tackle the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which are, Climate Action, Life Underwater and Life on Land. RESWAYE seeks to empower self-motivated women and young people who are ready to make a positive change in their environment.
The issue of waste management is one that concerns everyone in the society. People are encouraged to do as little as they can in ensuring the proper management of waste in their various communities. To this end, it is the belief of RESWAYE that Nigeria, and the world at large will be a better place if everyone does something little to help the community.
