Marketing Edge Excites orphans at Yuletide season

As a way of identifying with the less privileged at the Yuletide season, Marketing Edge, one of Nigeria’s pacesetting brands and marketing magazines, has thrilled the children at Saint Monica’s Orphanage Home, located in Iju-Ishaga area of Ogun State with several products and gift items.

The visit by Marketing Edge is a tradition which the reputable publishing house has sustained over the years as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities and as a way of giving back to the society.
The team led by the Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Amos Oladele, saw the staff members of the organisation interfacing with the children of the home in a bid to share with them the joy of the festive season and put smiles on their faces.

While presenting the various gift items to the orphanage, Oladele, who appreciated God for the opportunity which the organisation has to celebrate and put smiles on the faces of the less privileged children at a time such as this, said the organisation and its partners deemed it fit to give back to the society in that manner.
He recalled that Marketing Edge was at the same orphanage last year, saying: “It is our prayer that God will continue to bless both the staff members and children of this orphanage”.

According to him, the initiative was borne out of the need to appreciate God for sustaining the organisation and its staff thus far and to acknowledge and support the great work which the orphanage had been doing.
“As we all know, this yuletide season is a time when we commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and as it’s the practice all over the world, it is a season when individuals, families and organisations show love by giving to neighbours, friends and the needy in the society. In this season, we consider that the best kind of giving as encouraged by the Holy Scripture is to the less privileged; that is why we have thought it wise to visit Saint Monica’s Orphanage,” Oladele said.

The Administrator of the Orphanage, Rev Sister Evelyn Mario Okonta, expressed her profound gratitude to the Marketing Edge and its partners, stressing that God would replenish them a thousand fold.
The Sister stressed that running the orphanage had never been an easy task, noting that it is being run by donations from kind-hearted Nigerians.

In her words: “We run this orphanage from what people give to us, that is basically what we use; people come around and some of them bring foodstuffs like this, some will give us money, we will put them together and use it to pay the children’s school fees, pay their medical bills and also pay the staff that are working here.”

While appreciating Maraketing Edge, Okonta declared: “I want to say a very big thank you to you and your partners for identifying with us at this time and we are very grateful. We hope and pray that you will keep coming frequently; instead of coming once in a year maybe you will make it more frequently.”

She noted that the orphanage currently has 16 children 14 of whom are presently in the orphanage home, while the remaining two who are physically challenged are in a boarding school.

“We have 16 orphans. 14 are in the house here while two are in a boarding school. One of them is physically challenged and we don’t have the facility to take adequate care of her here but we pay the tuition so it is more like a boarding school, she stays in there 24/7. Then it is also the same thing for the other one who is deaf and dumb; we pay for that too”, she disclosed.

Speaking about orphanages generally, the administrator said: “Orphanages are places where children are kept when they are vulnerable. I want to say that in the orphanage, the job of taking care of the kids is quite enormous so we need help from people in terms of financial assistance and spiritual aid.”

Companies which partnered Marketing Edge through product donation included Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Chi Limited.