ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: LAWMA ACADEMY TAKES ADVOCACY TO SCHOOLS, INTERNS

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LAWMA Academy, the Educational Arm of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, has welcomed a fresh set of candidates for its one-month internship in April. The interns were all recent graduates of various universities in the country, across different academic disciplines.

Addressing the participants, the Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, congratulated them for making the internship programme, adding that it would assist them to learn as much as possible about waste management and its inherent benefits.

He noted that waste was not waste but resource, urging them to embrace the business opportunities offered by the circular economy value chain, where so-called waste becomes wealth and blessing, to individuals, society and the environment.

According to him, “This internship will go a long way in exposing you to the positive and rewarding side of waste management. I am sure you are aware that nothing is a waste until you waste them. What used to be waste is now a resource that can be harvested to make money and improve lives. Indeed, it’s a long value chain you can tap into, depending on your area of interest. It is a promising and highly rewarding venture”.

Speaking further, the LAWMA boss urged them to pay good attention to the practical aspects of their training and arm themselves with determination, to become change agents and champions of environmental sustainability.

Speaking in the same vein, the Executive Director of LAWMA, Mr. Kunle Adebiyi, urged the interns to maximise the knowledge gained, to leverage their areas of interest along the value-chain, for personal enterprise and good reward.

He said, “This is a good opportunity for you to acquire knowledge and make money from modern waste management initiatives. What is important for you here, is to pay attention to the various things you will be taught, so that you can decide where to key in, for future enterprise and handsome financial rewards”.

Similarly, LAWMA Academy, last month, ran a one-month internship programme for some graduate and post-graduate candidates, representing the first batch of interns for this year. The candidates who enjoyed in-depth training in modern waste management from various departments of the agency, received completion certificates, after presenting their group final project.

LAWMA Academy, has since the beginning of this year, taken environmental advocacy to more than 5,000 pupils of public schools across the state, in Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Mushin, Ijora-Olopa, Agege, Victoria Island and other areas.

The pupils were enlightened on LAWMA’s diverse operations, effects of indiscriminate waste dumping, making money from recyclables, usage of trash bags and cans, shunning cart-pushers and the need to patronise assigned PSP operators.

The founding objective was to expand the frontiers of knowledge on waste management, by teaching it as much as possible, to the younger generation for new cultural orientation and perception of waste management, for environmental sustainability. It is the basis for stretching the dragnets to bring in as many young people as possible into the fold, to form the vanguard of environment ambassadors, for a new culture and orientation, for a people-friendly environment.

LAWMA Academy Internship is a monthly programme of environmental and waste management education for willing candidates.