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CARING student Farah Maher aims to ring the changes for the environment in the kingdom with the help of a telecoms giant.
When the Bahraini teenager walked into a Zain store to buy credit for her mobile phone, she discovered she could purchase a simple paper voucher instead of the usual plastic non-biodegradable top-up card … and thought the service deserved better promotion.
The determined second year banking and finance student headed straight to the top with an idea to not only promote the use of the plastic-less top-up, but to reward those who collected and handed in their old vouchers instead of dumping them on the street.
Ever since owning a mobile phone, Farah, 18, from
The plastic cards often end up adding to the litter on the streets before being mixed up with other rubbish on a journey to landfill sites.
“I thought that phone companies should eliminate plastic because they cause pollution and aren’t bio-degradable,” she explained.
“How many times have you walked over the plastic top-up vouchers littered on the street? They’re everywhere!
“I collect cards so why can’t others? If people collected their cards and brought them back to the stores to be recycled they should be rewarded for keeping their environment clean.
“I told my aunt who works at Zain and a meeting with the directors was organised. I felt nervous standing in front of all the managers but they really liked the idea.”
As a result, ‘Farah’s Environmental Campaign,’ was launched. Electronic paper vouchers are now available in all Zain stores and in 500 outlets countrywide.
If Zain customers bring in five used top-up vouchers to be recycled they are rewarded with a raffle ticket with the chance to win flights to Malaysia and Dubai.
“Farah’s idea was to create an on-going campaign that would change people’s habits, encourage them to use technology and not to litter,” said Farah’s aunt, Pakiza Abdulrahman Mohamed, product specialist and marketing executive at Zain.
“So far the scheme has been successful.
“One guy came in with 1,000 vouchers, and we’ve given away one set of tickets already. The next draw will be held at the end of October.”
The used vouchers will be given to a recycling company.
Farah said: “The other students at Ahlia University were surprised that such a large company would listen to a student. But I am so happy that they did.”
She added that she is determined to one day set up her own society to protect the environment.
