By Onuwa Lucky Joseph
18 orphanages nationwide are grateful beneficiaries of a recent Nestle Cares reach out which saw donation of food, beverages, and personal hygiene products to the children living there.
Nestle Cares is the company’s Global Employee Volunteer Program created to give an opportunity for Nestlé employees to give back to society by offering their time, talent and resources. One important feature of the program is that relief materials donated by staff is matched by the company. And in this instance it went the long way of meeting the nutritional needs of 700 children in 18 orphanages across Nigeria. Amongst the beneficiary orphanages are –
- The SOS Children’s Village, Isolo-Lagos
- Sought After Children’s Orphanage, Ajah-Lagos
- SOS Children’s Home Jos
- Adonai Orphanage Home Kaduna
- Nigerian Red Cross Motherless Babies Home Enugu
- Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care, Yaba, Lagos
- Rachel’s Home, Abuja
- St. Anne’s Children’s Home, Warri, Delta State.
“We recognize that in times like this, the most important concern for caregivers is providing adequate nutrition for their children while ensuring the highest standards of hygiene to keep them safe”, Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria, said, while elucidating on the basis for the reach out. “This is why we have come together on the platform of Nestlé Cares to provide nutritious food and beverages as well as personal and homecare hygiene products to the orphanages we support across Nigeria. We are pleased that the items contributed by the volunteers were matched by the company, another way we leverage our resources at Nestlé to deliver impact in our communities. ”
Left to right – Ayodeji Adelopo, Programme Director, SOS Children’s Village Isolo; Eucharia Uzosike, Nestlé Cares Representative; and Maryam Daramola, National Corporate Relations Officer, SOS Children’s Home
Explaining further, she said that “These donations are part of Nestlé Nigeria’s contribution towards supporting the most vulnerable among us, most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We trust that the items will assist the caregivers in meeting the nutritional and welfare needs of the children during these difficult times.”
As would be expected, recipients of the Nestlé largess were full of gratitude. Mr. Ayodeji Adelopo, Programme Director for SOS Children’s Village, Isolo Lagos, said, “These times are challenging for all of us, and these are the times when support is really needed. I would like to thank Nestlé and its employees for not failing to provide the much-needed support.”
In the same vein, Pastor Samuel Oyelowo and Rev. (Mrs.) Elizabeth Afuwape, Director and Matron respectively of the Adonai Orphanage Home, Kaduna, expressed appreciation for Nestlé’s continuous support, especially in these times when good nutrition and hygiene are critical to to ensuring the health of the children in the Home. “Thank you Nestle for remembering us”, Pastor Samuel said, “especially now that the children are not in school. This will go a long way to meet their nutritional needs.”
Nestle Cares, a name which has quite a nice ring to it, is one vehicle through which Nestlé (founded over 150 years ago) lives out her commitment to drive societal progress while supporting a sustainable, healthy food system. It’s an initiative worth emulating on a sustained basis by other organisations as we all seek to make a better place especially for our children.
