The UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, on Wednesday joined the rest of the world to celebrate African children on the International Day of the African Child.
The UBA Foundation has been focused on education as one of its main areas of development for almost two decades.
Through its Read Africa and National Essay Competition initiatives the Foundation has been impacting lives positively across the African continent.
The International Day of the African child was another opportunity for UBA to demonstrate its commitment to the communities in which it operates across Africa, donating thousands of books to less privileged children on the continent.
In 1991, the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the AU, announced June 16th, as the International Day of the African Child, to honour the students who courageously marched for their rights to better education in Soweto, South Africa during the Soweto Uprising of June 16, 1976.
Speaking during a visit to Ignite Africa Leadership Foundation in Lagos, Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, was quoted in a statement to have emphasised the role that the UBA Foundation has been playing in the area of education.
“One of the best ways to lift people out of poverty is to educate them and at the Foundation, we understand the changes education can bring to a child’s life and to the lives of subsequent generations. “Reading books is something never to be taken for granted as there are so many children who don’t have the privileged of access to reading materials be it educational or recreational.
“We wanted to bring smiles to the faces of thousands of children on this day of the African Child,” she added.
Founder, Ignite Africa, Kolawole Oyeyemi, who received hundreds of books donated by the UBA Foundation, commended the UBA Foundation saying, “We are grateful to UBA and the UBA foundation for this gesture and the donation of the books as these will help us in our bid to touch lives and give back to the society as we afford children the opportunity to develop through knowledge enhancement.”
Across Africa in 20 countries, the UBA Foundation donated thousands of books to community centres, schools and hospitals in celebration of the International Day of the African child.
