Our partnership with Pure Earth Ghana is more than a collaboration, it’s a story of grit, discovery, and hope. It began in 2009, when GreenAd set out with a single, pressing question: where are Ghana’s hidden toxic scars? Back then, environmental contamination wasn’t always headline news. But we knew the stakes were high. Communities were quietly suffering the effects of pollution while the land bore decades of abuse from unchecked industrial activities.

Together with Pure Earth Ghana, we embarked on the Toxic Site Identification Project (TSIP), a groundbreaking effort to map and expose contaminated hotspots across the country. We visited forgotten corners of cities, industrial backyards, and abandoned dumps, documenting the invisible hazards threatening lives and ecosystems. Each site we uncovered represented more than data points, it was a human story, a family, or a community living under the shadow of toxic exposure.

Among the places we studied, Agbogbloshie remains etched in our collective memory. Once a bustling commercial hub, it became one of the world’s most notorious e-waste recycling sites. Here, thick black smoke hung over mountains of discarded electronics, and the ground was saturated with heavy metals. Behind the grim statistics were real people, workers trying to earn a living, young boys dismantling electronics by hand, and entire families living beside poisoned soil and air.

Confronted with this painful reality, GreenAd and Pure Earth Ghana didn’t stop at research. We championed a bold idea: an incentive payment system to help informal e-waste workers stop burning cables for copper. By offering safer alternatives, we gave them the chance to choose health and dignity over harm. This approach, though modest at first, planted the seeds for change — proving that environmental justice can also be economic justice.

Today, as we sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pure Earth Ghana, we reflect on the weight of this long journey. This moment isn’t just a signature on paper; it’s a testament to the power of collaboration and persistence. It reaffirms our shared commitment to cleaner air, safer soils, and healthier communities across Ghana.

For GreenAd, this MoU marks the beginning of a new chapter. It signals an expanded effort to develop solutions that are practical, scalable, and rooted in the lived experiences of the communities most affected. Together, we will continue pushing boundaries, from policy advocacy and public education to innovative pilot projects, always guided by the belief that a healthier planet is inseparable from human dignity.

As we look to the future, we remain steadfast:

• To give voice to the marginalized communities living with toxic threats.
• To pioneer new ways of turning environmental challenges into opportunities.
• To work hand-in-hand with partners like Pure Earth Ghana to create an Earth that is not only safer but kinder to every person who calls it home.

This new phase is a celebration of resilience, innovation, and hope. And it’s an invitation, to governments, private sector players, civil society, and everyday citizens, to join us in reimagining Ghana’s environmental future.