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The Access Bank Ghana has donated 1,000 sandals to schoolchildren in 10 schools across five regions in the country.
They are the Northern, Upper West, Eastern, Western and the Greater Accra regions.
The sandals are made from the conversion of 9,000 pounds of tyres that could have been burnt to release harmful gases into the atmosphere.
The donation formed part of the bank’s broader corporate social responsibility campaign dubbed: “A sandal more for a better tomorrow”.
The campaign is a societal impact drive that would witness the distribution of 13,000 high-quality, eco-friendly footwear to underprivileged pupils in selected schools across the country over a five-year period.
It also forms part of the bank’s commitment to help in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals that focus on education, and responsible production and consumption (Goals 4 and 12).
It is being executed in partnership with Chaint Afrique, an environmental sustainability organisation that is focused on promoting the innovative upcycling of used car tyres into eco-friendly, durable school sandals.
The Managing Director of Access Bank, Olumide Olatunji, underscored the importance of education towards development.
He said the bank sought to meet the educational needs of underprivileged children by solving environmental challenges.
“Sustainability is at the heart of what we do and protecting the environment is in line with our corporate strategy.
“It is deliberate and it is something we will do repeatedly in line with our strategy.
“We want to develop this not just for schools in Ghana but to other West African countries and across the continent and hopefully export to generate revenue,” Mr Olatunji said.
The Head of Corporate Communications and Brands Management at Access Bank, Oluwaseun David-Akindele, said the bank was excited about the impact the project would be making on the lives of children and the environment.
Commending Access Bank for the initiative, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency, Audrey Quarcoo, said her outfit was excited that corporate institutions were making it an initiative to help protect and conserve the environment.
For his part, the Headmaster of Liberty Avenue 2 Junior High Schools, Lawson Calvin, lauded the bank for bringing hope to the children since some of them had to fend for themselves.
