Reggae singer Duane Stephenson is once again embarking on another major philanthropy project this time spearheading the Surfrider Foundation Jamaica’s basic mandate which is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the islands beaches and shorelines.Stephenson who is still a very active humanitarian ambassador for many other charity projects including the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) which last year provided thousands of meals to Africans living in conflict zones known as the Horn Of Africa. Duane is the Director of the newly founded Surfrider Foundation of Jamaica which is the latest affiliate of the global non-profit environmental organization based in the U.S which boast over 250,000 active members.

In a statement from Stephenson lack of proper funding from the national agencies sometimes plays a major role in littering. “Here in Jamaica the economic situation sometimes underminds the effort of something as simple as keeping a community clean. Across the island low income communities don’t have adequate facilitates to manage the volumes of garbage so they end up with overflowing receptacles. Surfrider Foundation Jamaica is here to raise awareness across the island and to help policy makers make the necessary changes to keep our beaches and surroundings clean”.To date the Surfrider Foundation of Jamaica has been cosigned and supported by several A list reggae artists through social media, including Beres Hammond, Gyptian, Morgan Heritage, Gregory Issacs, Sick Puppies, The Wailers, Busy Signal and Queen Ifrica while organizations such as VP Records are also playing an integral role in spreading awareness.

During the Easter weekend the local Surfrider Foundation Jamaica staged a beach clean up in Negril which saw dozens of volunteers with garbage bags picking up plastic bottles, litter and other debris off the beach. The Negril cleanup saw Bran Nu Entertainment and The Rockhouse Hotel coming on board to support the worthy cause that benefits all Jamaicans.

According to Surfrider representative Christopher Campbell several other cleans up are currently being planned island wide. “Well on April 22nd which is regarded as Earth Day, members of the Surfrider Foundation will stage another beach clean up and this time we will be looking to have a number of artists and media personalities taking part. Duane Stephenson is already confirmed, even though the 22nd is his birthday he is still fully committed to the cause and that right there is commendable. Another prospective clean up date will be June 8th which is World Ocean Day and again we are looking to do something special”.