As part of its corporate social responsibility, the LOIB Empowerment Initiative Volunteers has donated the sum of N350,000 to two public secondary schools in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
According to report, the gesture which came in the form of a scholarship award benefitted 50 indigent students to support their 2024/2025 academic session.
A statement issued by the group noted that initiative benefitted students of the Government Day Secondary School, Gaa-Akanbi, and the Community Junior Secondary School, Tanke Okeodo, both located in the state capital.
The group added that the gesture was also part of its initiatives and resolve to ensure that every child has access to education, irrespective of their social background.
At the Government Day Secondary School, N225,000 translated into scholarship was paid as tuition for 25 SS2 students.
The beneficiaries comprised of both male and female students with the first 15 of them falling in the categories of the five best students each in the Arts, the Sciences, and the Commercial classes, while the remaining 10 were indigent students.
At the Community Junior Secondary School, N125,000 was paid to the school to take care of the tuition of 25 JSS2 students, comprising the five best students each in JSS2 and 20 less privileged students.
In a statement issued during the event, it noted that while addressing students of the Government Day Secondary School during their assembly session, a volunteer with the LOIB Empowerment Initiative, Mrs Blessing Olanrewaju, gave an inspiring career talk to the students.
The statement noted, “She encouraged the students to engage in activities that will improve their self esteem,” even as she averred that, “having a good self esteem can help boost their academic performance and help them achieve great success in their chosen careers.”
Evidence gathered further that during the talk, Olanrewaju shared the real-life experience of a student who started just like the students but now occupies a higher office in society because of the positive choices she made with respect to her academics.
Thus, she encouraged “the students to maintain a positive attitude toward their academics as it has the potential to take them to greater heights.”
Similarly, at the second school visit, our correspondent observed that the highly excited students and staff watched gleefully as the beneficiaries stepped forward after their names were announced for the scholarship.
The school Administrative Officer, Mrs Quadri, who spoke on behalf of the school and the students, hailed the organisation and prayed for greater heights to the members of the team.
When interviewed, some of the beneficiaries who expressed surprise over their choice said they were grateful to have been honoured with the scholarship, while the school principal and the vice principal of special duties, Mrs Bolarinwa expressed their appreciation to the organisation for what they described as its “magnanimity and commitment to the service of humanity.”
On her part, the visionary of the initiative, Mrs Love Ajagbe-Ayankola, spoke particularly about how she felt fulfilled to have been able to take on the great feat.
She acknowledged and thanked all the volunteers who contributed to the success of the outreach and all sponsors who gave towards the scholarship.
“As this outreach goes down in history as the first official outreach organised by the initiative since its incorporation and government registration, I’m optimistic that with adequate support, funds, and encouragement, it will be able to take on many more noble courses like this in the future,” Ajagbe-Ayankola remarked.
