Caerphilly County Borough Council has teamed up with Welsh women’s organisation, Merched Y Wawr to support a special charity campaign.
Save the Children’s ‘No Child Born to Die’ campaign is the latest charity initiative that Caerphilly County Borough Council has taken to its heart, and for over a month will recycle all mobile phones and ink cartridges used by the authority and will encourage staff and members of the community to do the same.
Caerphilly County Borough Council got involved in the campaign after employee Maureen Potter, who is also a member of the local branch of Merched Y Wawr, contacted the Chief Executive, Anthony O’Sullivan to ask for his support.
This appeal is particularly close to Anthony’s heart as he spent several character building years working on sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation projects in Africa and this gave him an understanding of the plight of children in the Third World.
Anthony said, “As a council, we support a wide range of excellent charitable causes, and when I was approached to help raise money to save lives by doing something as simple as donating used ink cartridges and mobile phones there was no doubt in my mind that we would team up with Merched Y Wawr to help collect as much as we could.”
Save the Children’s ‘No Child Born To Die’ campaign will aim to stop 8 million children from dying from preventable causes such as diarrhoea, malaria and measles before they reach the age of five. It is also supporting the work Save the Children does here in Wales to help ensure that the poorest children in our communities have a fair chance in life.
What we would deem as rubbish can save lives. On average an old ink cartridge is worth a £1.00 and an old mobile phone can collect £5.00 or more when recycled.
A single pound is enough to buy 5 packets of a special high-protein and high energy peanut paste used to feed a malnourished child; £5.00 can buy a mosquito net to protect a child from contracting malaria.
Collection boxes will be situated in the main reception of Pontllanfraith House and Penallta House, Tredomen, from May 18th to June 30th.
Jessica Evans, Fundraising Executive for Save the Children in Wales said, “We are extremely grateful to the Chief Executive and the staff of Caerphilly County Borough Council for supporting our campaign in partnership with Merched y Wawr. The money raised from recycling the ink cartridges and mobile phones will make a huge difference to the lives of so many vulnerable children around the globe, but will also enable us to carry out our work with children from deprived communities around Wales.”
Merched y Wawr, South East Wales, Development Officer Eirlys Davies said: “I was so pleased to hear a large organisation such as Caerphilly County Borough Council would assist us in collecting the items required for the campaign. We feel very strongly about this particular campaign especially as Merched y Wawr is an organisation for women consisting of thousands of mothers, grandmothers and aunties. A child plays a very important part in all of our lives.”
She continued, “I urge everyone to join us in this campaign – in schools, in the workplace and in factories. Don’t throw cartridges or old mobile phones in the bin donate them at the dedicated collection points.”
For further information on how you can help, contact Save the Children on 0790 993 7218 or Merched y Wawr on 01970 611 661 [email protected]
