Nestlé Nigeria Improves Livelihoods in Communities 

Nestlé Nigeria   recently refurbished facilities in two primary schools to help create a more conducive environment for teaching and learning in its factory communities.

This, according to the company, was in line with its commitment to improving livelihoods in the communities closest to its operations.  

Speaking on the development, the Managing Director/CEO, Nestle Nigeria, Mauricio Alarcon said: “We believe that the long term success of our business is dependent on nurturing thriving communities closest to our operations.

“We therefore work with our partners to enhance living conditions in the localities where most of our staff, suppliers and host communities reside.  This is one of the ways we ensure that everyone connected to our business derives a benefit. We call this Creating Shared Value.”   

The company said the recent handover of the refurbished facilities in two schools close to its  Abaji and Flowergate factories underlined its efforts towards impacting its factory communities positively.

The two schools, LEA Primary School Manderegi and NUD Primary School, Owode Egba, are part of Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK), a school-based nutrition education initiative supported by the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Education.

N4HK achieves its objectives by teaching and promoting healthy nutrition, healthy hydration, hygiene and an active lifestyle. The training and coaching is implemented in collaboration with State Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) in Ogun State and Universal Basic Education Board in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The programme  is reaching over 17,000 children and 350 teachers in 30 primary schools. 

On her part, Nestlé Nigeria’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Mrs. Victoria Uwadoka said: “It would be difficult for children to imbibe healthy nutrition and hygiene practices if the environment is not conducive for putting what they learn into practice.

“It was therefore important to ensure that the children and teachers have access to good classrooms, safe clean water, toilets and handwashing facilities.” 

At the handover ceremony of LEA Primary School project,  which includes a refurbished classroom block, two new blocks of water system toilets, a fully equipped playground, a borehole and two water fetching points in January, the children and teachers expressed their delight with the improvement to their facilities. 

“Our classrooms used to have holes in the roof where water leaked in during classes,” said Onyekachi, a pupil of LEA Primary School. 

“We put buckets under the leaking roof to prevent flooding. Sometimes we used the water to wash our hands. We are very happy to have new toilets and water because, before we had to go to the bush to ease ourselves.” 

 

 

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