BY CHARLES ABUEDE
Leadway Assurance Company Limited, one of Nigeria’s largest insurers, has teamed up with Slum2School Africa, a renowned non-governmental organisation, to provide free and quality education to indigent children living in slums and remote communities in Nigeria.
The initiative, which aligns with the global quest to help the United Nations realise its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Quality Education, represents Leadway’s commitment to promoting quality education in line with United Nations SDGs.
The companies, in a joint statement, said the support initiative will include equipping the child with critical skills through emotional intelligence training, mentorship sessions, and extracurricular activities, adding that the scheme has enhanced the provision of well-rounded and multi-dimensional education to primary school students in selected slums within Lagos State for an academic session, where 50 students living in slums and remote communities have received educational support, covering tuition fees, school kits, and education materials worth N2.5 million.
Olusakin Labeodan, group chief marketing officer, Leadway Holdings, commenting on the initiative, said the partnership is in consonance with Leadway’s overarching organisational objective to constantly create value and enhance the standard of living conditions of people within and outside the communities in which it operates.
“As a forward-thinking and value-creating organisation, Leadway is dedicated to consistently improving lives and advancing social impact in our communities, particularly in underserved areas. This commitment has driven the organisation to partner with like-minded organisations to collectively actualise these objectives, leading to a more sustainable future for our children. So, we are deliberate about helping children in these communities gain access to quality education as a means to socio-economic emancipation,” said Labeodan.
He added that Leadway is a socially responsible organisation, and that it understands that positively impacting the education of young Nigerians is also a guaranteed investment in the country’s collective economic growth.
“By way of exemplifying this philosophy, employees of Leadway will be actively involved as volunteers to provide mentorship to the students and support for the initiative. Through this involvement, the partnership extends beyond providing access to quality education to positively influencing the future of Nigerian children, as it is no cliché that the young ones of today are indeed the building blocks of tomorrow’s leadership,” he concluded.
Also, Otto Orondaam, founder, Slum2School Africa, in his comments on the strategic partnership, affirmed that the drive to accelerate the reduction of out-of-school children living in hard-to-reach communities across Africa through the provision of equal access to quality education can be achieved through the contributions of individuals and organisations who are not only socially responsible but also interested in achieving impact.
“Leadway has demonstrated that providing quality education to even the most vulnerable is central to their social concerns, and we value the impact of this partnership,” he said.
