By Emmanuel Elebeke

Telecoms giant, MTN, says it has invested over $56 million into 341 projects across Nigeria, since inception in 2009.

The Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma, who revealed this recently at a function in Abuja, said the move was in tandem with MTN’s drive to extend hands of love to its host communities.

Ugboma said part of the projects was a special scheme initiated by the Foundation for Persons with Disability.

She said the gesture was in fulfilment of the company’s resolve to give back to the society as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, under the economic empowerment portfolio of the parent company.

Ugboma lamented the high illiteracy rate and poverty among persons with disability, said the Foundation had intensified efforts through the projects to close the wide gaps.

To support the education of blind students, she said MTN Foundation has enhanced its Universities Connect Project by installing special software packages in all the computers in its digital libraries.

In addition, she explained that the Foundation had extended its annual scholarships to 451 blind students in universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education in the country.

“The MTN Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life in the key areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

“We will continue to impact the lives of our people, because Corporate Social Investment, is an integral part of our business strategy at MTN.

In essence, we will continue to strive to put smiles on the faces of our people as long as we remain in business,” she added.

Meanwhile, it was disclosed at the event that about 25 million Nigeria live with one form of physical disability or another, according to MTN Foundation.

Ugboma said disabled persons are described as the world’s largest minority, with about 10 per cent of the world’s population (650 million) people live with a disability, out which about 20 to 25 million people live in Nigeria with one form of disability or the other, hence the need to pay more attention to their plight.

With the occasion, Nigeria joined the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Through the annual observation, the United Nations aims to promote an understanding of disability issues; the rights of persons with disabilities and gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in the political, social, economic and cultural life of communities.

The event was organised by the MTN Foundation in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

In his speech, the Minister of Women Affairs, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemoni said the government had over the past four years engaged in promoting activities that would integrate persons with disabilities into the main stream of the society with zero tolerance to discrimination. Particularly, he said government had given the persons with disability voice by sponsoring them to the 2014 global conference in which they made their opinion know to the world.