It was a display of emotions and awakening of hopes as Dufil Prima Foods, makers of Indomie Noodles, recently held the 11th edition of the Indomie Independence Day Award,IIDA.
The IIDA is Dufil’s corporate social responsibility initiative aims to reward and celebrate Nigerian children below age 15 that have demonstrated bravery to physical, social and intellectual challenges.
This year’s event, which held amid pomp and pegeantry in Lagos, presented Elijah Ephraim Umanah, Victor Olayiwola and David Nengi Ayomide Pepple as the 2018 Independence heroes .The trio were rewarded with millions of naira worth of scholarship.
Pepple, nine , emerged the social hero of the year for his rare artistry works,the proceeds from which he uses to foot the hospital bill of his younger brother who is down with cerebral palsy. Pepple was not only rewarded with millions of naira but also attracted the sympathy of the organisers which promised to pay the hospital bills of his sick brother.
13 year-old Senior Secondary School 1 Umanah, became the intellectual hero of the year for his creative ingenuity that saw him produced reading ingenuity, using torchlight, solar panel and universal serial bus (USB) ports.
In his address, Chief Executive Officer of Multipro Consumer Products Limited, Mr. Pawan Sharma, reiterated that IIDA emanated from the brand’s passion for children and their laudable exploits.
“As a brand, we decided to take our CSR initiative further to celebrate unnoticed and unsung heroes whose extraordinary feats worth rewarded.
“This year, we received hundreds of entries and when we go through those entries, we were amazed to see amazing exploits of Nigerian children. We are grateful to our partners , including Stanbic IBTC Bank and TVC Communications for supporting this cause, individual or organisations who may want to support this cause are equally welcome.”
Speaking further, the Founder of Rise Networks, Mrs. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, emphasised the need to empower Nigerian children through quality and scientific-oriented education for the overall growth and development of the country
“I want to commend Dufil for its consistency in the past 11 years. This I will like to say is the most inspiring programme for Nigerian children which has not only succeeded in igniting hopes, but as well reshaped societal values in the positive.”
The high point of the event was the announcement of the 2018 physical hero.
Olayiwola, 15, emerged the physical hero for saving his mother from a car accident, which later resulted to his left leg being amputated.
Shedding more light on the situation, Olayiwola said: “I did what I did to save my mother and others. I love my mother so much that I did not want her to die. Awards and rewards were never on my mind when I saved them from that car accident. But Indomie has made my act a worthwhile one and a thing of joy. I am happy to have witnessed a day like this.”
