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UAP in Sh20m Ndakaini conservation

THIKA, Kenya, May 4 – Leading insurance company UAP has announced that it will bolster the preservation of Ndakaini dam with a major reforestation program.

The company will work in partnership with Ndakaini Dam Environmental Association (NDEKA) and Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company to plant an estimated 250,000 trees over four years at an estimated cost of Sh20 million.

So far UAP has already planted over 30,000 trees and has planted an additional 10,000 trees during the tree planting week.

The Managing Director of UAP Kenya James Wambugu said that the company was concerned about the low forest cover around the area which had led to low rainfall yet the dam served 70 per cent of Nairobi’s three million residents.

In support of environmental conservation, he announced that the company had initiated an internal campaign aimed at managing and reducing the amount of paper used with a view to saving at least 30 per cent of its total stationery costs.

The company has invested over Sh29 million in an electronic document management system which has eliminated the use of paper in most of its operations.

 "We estimate that this program will save us nearly 30 per cent of our annual operational costs a portion of which we can commit to further reforestation programs," he said adding that statistics from a recent survey for UAP showed that the firm consumed more that 22 tonnes of paper in a year.

Mr Wambugu explained that UAP had a very conscious corporate social responsibility program of which environmental conservation was a key pillar.

 "Part of our long term strategy is to participate and partner with institutions that promote and preserve sustainable environment," he added pointing out that sustainability lies at the core of the CSR programs that the company was involved in.

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UAP’s involvement with Ndakaini goes beyond reforestation of the dam to include enabling local entrepreneurs.

Mr Wambugu said the company had so far invested Sh1 million in the refurbishment of the local trading centre by giving it a fresh coat of paint. He asserted that the project was done solely by local contractors.

To raise the awareness about the dam’s predicament, UAP sponsors an annual race around the dam popularly known as the UAP Ndakaini Half Marathon which is part of the annual Athletics Kenya calendar.

It has spawned well known athletes such as Kamau Wanjiru, the Olympic champion, who recently won the coveted London Marathon.

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