Oando Donates Relief Materials to Flood Victims in N’Delta

Oando Donates Relief Materials to Flood Victims in N’Delta

Peter Uzoho

Employees of Oando Plc kicked-off the year by putting smiles on the faces of thousands of people, who were affected by the 2018 floods in Rivers and Bayelsa State, a feat worthy of note and emulation.

Last year, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that flooding across 16 States and 87 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Central and Southern Nigeria caused 199 deaths and 1,036 injuries.

To this end, Oando employees donated food and non-perishable items such as bags of rice; cartons of noodles; disinfectant; mosquito treated nets; clothing to over 2,000 displaced families in some communities as well as those in government-approved camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in their host communities of Rivers and Bayelsa state.

The employee-led initiative is grounded in their realisation and acceptance that the government cannot achieve an inclusive and sustainable society alone.

Speaking on the initiative, an Oando employee, Olayemi Olomo, said, “I believe strongly in helping people in need. Initiatives of this nature have been my passion for over 5 years, and that’s part of the culture here at Oando.”

In a letter to Oando, Chairman, Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency, Major Zedekiah T. Isu, appreciated the efforts of Oando employees.

You would recall that in the first quarter of 2018, Oando employees, as part of its ‘Month of Love’ initiative donated school supplies such as educational books to encourage learning and reading, school bags, school furniture, raincoats in preparation for the rainy season, and other items to aid educational developmentto three public primary schools in Gbagada Schools Complex.

In commemoration of World Blood Donor Day of same year, Oando employees donated blood to save lives in partnership with LifeBank an e-health company connecting blood banks with hospitals. The objective of the blood drive was to bridge the blood shortage gap in Nigeria and dispel myths around blood donation.

Interestingly, philanthropic practices can be found in the ancient civilisations of sub-Saharan Africa where kindness was paramount to society. Over time, the long history of giving has made a profound impact on humanity. Employee philanthropy otherwise known as corporate philanthropy has become an even more critical part of creating a healthy, sustainable culture within an organisation; it’s good for the organization but more importantly a give back culture engages employees and gives them purpose. It is encouraging to see that companies in Nigeria such as Oando, Shell, MTN, NCDMB, Agip amongst others are reviving and imbibing this critical value in their employees.

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