UBA Foundation raises education empowerment project across Africa

UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has donated thousands of books to schools, community centres, libraries, hospitals and orphanages in twenty countries across Africa in celebration of the 2021 edition of the International Day of the African Child.

The International Day of the African child, according to the Foundation, which had in the past two decades focused on education through its Read Africa and National Essay Competition initiatives, was another opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to African communities by donating thousands of books to less privileged children.

Speaking on the positive impact of the foundation on the lives of children across the African continent, Bola Atta, managing director/ CEO, UBA Foundation, who visited and presented books to the Ignite Africa Leadership Foundation, a youth learning and development organisation located in Ikeja, Lagos state, explained that the UBA Foundation remains passionate about its three key pillars of ‘Education, Empowerment and Environment’.

She further noted that the bank, through its foundation, recognises the huge role that education and indeed a good reading culture play in the lives of the youth, the reason why the bank donates books and learning materials to children across the continent.

Atta who is also UBA’s group head, corporate communications, noted that as a pan-African institution, UBA through its Foundation believes that quality education is crucial in developing the manpower needed by Africa to exploit emerging opportunities and propel the continent to higher levels of development.

“UBA believes that the future of Africa lies in her youth and for this reason, the Foundation is actively involved in facilitating educational projects and bridging the literacy-wide gap on a pan-African scale, and is helping to rekindle the dwindling reading and literacy culture amongst African youths as they pursue their education,” she divulged.

Further emphasising the role the UBA Foundation has played in the area of education, Atta said one of the best ways to lift people out of poverty is to educate them, adding that the Foundation is committed to improving the life of the African children and the lives of subsequent generations through its education initiatives.

“Reading books is something never to be taken for granted as there are so many children who don’t have the privilege of access to reading materials be it educational or recreational. We want to bring smiles to the faces of thousands of children on this day of the African Child,’ she stated.

Atta who decried the dearth of good bookshops as against what obtained in the past, emphasised the belief that a highly educated and well-informed youth is critical to the future of Africa, and explained that ‘UBA Foundation’s ‘Read Africa initiative’ is aimed at rekindling the dwindling reading culture amongst African youths and to encourage leisure reading in junior and senior secondary school students across Africa.

Kolawole Oyeyemi, founder, Ignite Africa, who received the books, commended efforts of the UBA Foundation, noting that the donation will go a long way towards assisting with the vision of the library which is to impact the youth positively, equip them with materials to propel their growth and help in its bid to touch lives and give back to the society.

The library, according to reports, hosts numerous book clubs, poetry sessions and creative writing competitions for African youth. Ignite Africa also leads an initiative to offer book clubs in public schools in Lagos and Rivers state, one of the reasons it was chosen as a beneficiary of the UBA Foundation education project.