For 12 days, officials of the Environmental Ethics and Safety Corps (ESCORP) gathered in Enugu State. They came to train cadets who “would go into the world” to propagate the message of hygiene.
Thus securing the environment for posterity was the slogan ESCORP wanted to be the take home phrase for Enugu residents as it ended the training programme for the cadets.
As soon as the programme ended that Friday, the new environmental foot-soldiers took to the streets, educating and sensitizing the residents on the need to keep their environment clean.
The outreach was part of the 12- day training programme for ESCORP Cadets aimed at putting into practice what members have been taught during the training programme.
The Enugu State commandant of the corps, Mr Simeon Ugwu, told Oriental News that the exercise was aimed at exposing the cadets to what they would actually be doing when they are deployed to the areas of their primary assignments.
He also used the opportunity to explain that that the organisation which was inaugurated in 2009 and later re-inaugurated in August 2013 was aimed at securing the safety of man’s physical and social environments, sanitation and hygiene as its primary concern.
ESCORP, he said, was established to address the environmental challenges in the country.
His words: “We are here to train corps marshals which are our first assignment and equip them with the necessary knowledge. After the training we hope to deploy them to schools, communities and other institutions where they would discharge their duties. We have sent them to the society so they can practice what they have been taught during the training programme.”
Ugwu also noted that ESCORP as a body had other duties aimed at eradicating environmental challenges.
“We have flagged off a programme called Mass Action for Environmental Sustainability, Sanitation and Hygiene (MAESSAH). In the programme, we have four projects; the first is a school-based project called Clean Tomorrow Today (CTT).
“After the training the marshals would be deployed to schools to teach pupils how to keep the environment clean, how to behave and so many other things. The second one is New Centenary Cleaner Environment; in this project, the marshals will be going to ministries and both private and public institutions to address the working class on the need to keep their working place and government infrastructure clean.
“The other one is the community environmental ethics safety education and enlighten which entails going to the communities and grassroots to educate people on the need to maintain environmental sanitation habit and personal hygiene,” he said.
He later pleaded with the people to maintain good hygiene practices in order to prevent diseases, especially the dreaded Ebola Disease Virus (EDV).
Also speaking, the Anambra State ESCORP commandant, Mr Charles Orji, pleaded with the state and federal governments to support ESCORP in carrying out its duties effectively.
“We are partnering with the Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Mrs Stella Jibril, but we still need the support and approval of the state and Federal governments.
“We are also reducing unemployment as we are employing 2000 cadets who are qualified to be officials based on the examination which was held during the training period,” Orji said.
A cadet, Miss Chinwendu Aneke, described the training programme as an amazing exercise which has enlightened as well as prepared them for their primary assignments.
“The training has enlightened us on the need to sensitise individuals on the importance of maintaining good environmental and ethical practices. We have gone out to teach people about environmental safety in order to promote good health. People appreciated what we taught them and were ready to put in practice all we learnt in order to safe-guard the environment,” she said.
The Secretary General of the group in Enugu, Mr. Benjamin Ozougo, expressed joy on the success of the training programme.
He noted that the training of the cadets was just the starting point of the numerous objectives of the body.
His words: “Today marks the end of the training exercise for ESCORP cadets in Enugu. The programme started on the first day of September and is ending today. Individuals need to be enlightened on the need to keep the environment and the body clean. People are unethical in the way they behave and act, therefore, it is necessary to inculcate ethical behaviours in individuals in order to create an enabling society for all. And this is why the body was created.”
Ozougo said that the group would also help the state’s waste management authority to reduce pollution in the state.
“ESWAMA is in-charge of waste control in the city and they are doing their best in keeping the city clean. However, there is need to complement their efforts in order to achieve the goal of keeping the environment clean. Our job is to teach people on how to dispose their waste properly.
“We have attained the height of success from this training exercise. The cadets are happy and when they went out to put into practice what they have been taught, people responded well and this has proved that the exercise was not in vain. The cadets will later be posted to schools, communities for their primary assignments”, he added.
A resident, Mrs Chioma Agunwa described the exercise as an eye-opener.
“I am happy that this group has taken it upon itsedlf to educate our society on the needs to maintain good hygiene practice which is the ultimate in this disease prone period”, she said.
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