The Forecourt of the Alliance Francaise was filled with grandeaur last Monday night as some European volunteers, who undertook volunteerism activities in the country, were honoured.
The program was put together by France Volontaire, an agency of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, which promotes international solidarity through volunteerism by recruiting and deploying volunteers from France to different countries.
In Ghana, the organisation is working closely with EcoCare Ghana, a rights-based campaign and advocacy non-governmental organization which focuses on policy and practices around community rights and forests, climate change, wildlife conservation, agriculture and others.
Last Monday, the three volunteers who were celebrated on the night were Valentino Attanasio, an energy Engineer from Sicily in Italy, Sara Lorenzini, a PhD student from the University of Milan and Noah Mengoumou, an 18 years old volunteer from France.
All three came to Ghana through the European Union Aid Volunteer Program. At EcoCare Ghana, Valentino worked to support the coordination and partnership for Forests and Climate Generations projects while Sara supported research as part of EcoCare Ghana’s Landscape Restoration Projects and facilitated the implementation of the Climate Generation Project.
Noah on the other hand supported the implementation of the Climate Generation Program and EcoCare Ghana’s work on Cocoa and Forests.
Addressing the audience who came to grace the occasion, MrObed boasted about how privileged his organisation is to host the volunteers.
“It was a privilege hosting the three volunteers,” he said and also congratulated the three for the good work they did at EcoCare. He noted their willingness to learn and also share their knowledge with others. Â He wished them well and prayed that they excel in all their endeavours as they journey back to their respective countries.
The volunteers who embarked on field trips to some parts of the country, including Ashanti, Bono  and the Western Regions to raise awareness on climate change also shared their experiences with the audience. Valentino spoke about how they were able to educate Ghanaians on climate change and its impact on agriculture and human rights as well as discussions on activities that can be undertaken to mitigate it.
He again noted that the group embarked on some planting and trash collecting activities and established climate generation club on campuses.
He said all the activities were undertaken to imbibe climate awareness in their audience. Last Monday’s program was graced by the Director of Alliance Francaise, Mr. Emmanuel Labrande, representatives from the French Embassy and other volunteer organizations in the country.
