On 26 June 2013, Bali, the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation announced football star Cristiano Ronaldo as its ambassador for the Mangrove Care Forum Bali. Cristiano arrived in Bali on June 25, 2013 at the invitation of its founder Tomy Winata in their efforts to hep preserve and save the mangrove.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to Indonesia is part of his role as ambassador of the Mangrove Care Forum Bali. Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Bali and was accompanied by his girlfriend, Irina Shayk.
During the sunny morning, Cristiano Ronaldo planted a symbolic mangrove alongside Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Telaga Waja, which is located on the Gulf coast of Benoa. President SBY attended the ceremony accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and several ministers, including the Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan & Tomy Winata. The ceremony of plantation aims to further internationalize the message that the Indonesian people and government place great importance to the environment, especially the preservation of mangroves.
This activity aims to increase public awareness about the importance of mangrove forests and encourage the active participation of the community for the preservation of mangrove forests.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at the scene accompanies by Tomy Winata, founder of Artha Graha Peduli Foundation, which, together with local communities established the Mangrove Care Forum Bali whose mission is to ensure the cleanliness, maintenance and planting of mangroves around Tanjung Benoa.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed to become the ambassador of Mangrove Care Forum Bali,” said Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan as he inducted Cristiano with a certificate of ambassadorship to the Mangrove Care Forum Bali.
President Yudhoyono made an appeal to the Indonesian people, especially the children, “Do you love your homeland? They want our country to remain beautiful and healthy? You are willing to make an effort to contribute to the future of Indonesia and the planet. So we have to join our efforts in taking care of our forests, including mangrove forests.”
In his speech, Ronaldo said: “I would like to thank the President and the First Lady. It’s an honor for me to return to Indonesia. Earlier this year, Mr. Peter Lim and Mr. Tomy Winata made me a proposal to be the ambassador for the mangrove, and I was immediately attracted to the idea.”
Ronaldo also took the opportunity to point out that this visit to Bali aims to inspire movement rehabilitation of mangroves. “I hope that my actions in Bali today can inspire the movement to rescue the mangroves and help improve the environment.”
Tomy Winata announced that he is extremely honored and pleased with the visit of Ronaldo and that purely charitable purposes “Ronaldo thank your visit as ambassador to Mangrove Care Forum Bali. Ronaldo’s role is entirely voluntary with no remuneration for his role in supporting the campaign mangrove in Bali” Tomy Winata confirmed. “It is a testament to the dedication of Ronaldo to environmental causes and making the world a better place.”
“Hopefully the message ‘Save the Mangroves, save the Earth’ can reach all walks of life, young and old, rich and poor,” said Tomy Winata.
During the ceremony of mangrove plantation, Ronaldo was also reunited with Martunis, the boy who survived the tsunami in Aceh after about 19 days adrift. Throughout this time, the only clothing he had was a soccer jersey Ronaldo. This meeting between Martunis and his idol took place after nearly eight years since its first meeting in Aceh.
16 years ago, Tomy Winata started a conservation initiative in Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation (TWNC) whose scope is the conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife and rare forests, flora and fauna, marine and coral reefs.
More photos of Cristiano Ronaldo during the event, click here.
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