By Dayo Adesulu

Western Union Foundation  in collaboration with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Skye Bank, First Bank, Ecobank, GTBank and Diamond Bank, have boosted students learning in Lagos State as they donated a hi-tech library project valued at N19.39 million or $98,500.

COMMISSIONING: Students of Community High School, Ketu in the library shortly after the commissioning

The project which was initiated by Gabasawa Women and Children Initiative, a non-governmental organization, brought smiles to the faces of students from Archdeacon Adelaja Senior High School, Bariga, and Community Senior High School, Ketu, as the schools were refurbished and equipped to standard.

 
The representative of the Gabasawa Women and Children Initiative said: “The donation was part of the Read to Succeed Project, designed to awaken the passion for books among students of benefitting schools. The project would in the long run   improve the declining performance of the students in their examinations.’’

 
Meanwhile, the Regional Vice President for North, Central and West Africa, Western Union, Aida Diarra, was optimistic that the annual project would equip the students with the knowledge to excel in their education. According to him, the basic ability to read is what makes the ability to learn possible. He added, ‘’It is the way we are able to seek out and acquire information ourselves, without relying on biased viewpoints.

At Western Union, we believe that education, access to financial services and economic opportunity go hand in hand to advocate for a world where economic opportunity is in reach for everyone.” Also speaking, Patrick Gaston, President of Western Union Foundation further described lack of education as a barrier to financial inclusion, especially for those who don’t have access to the financial services due to low literacy levels.

 
“Project Read to Succeed is in line with the Western Union’s  ‘Education for Better’ program which supports access to education that provides resources and tools to people in the society that need to live better lives,” he said. Both facilities were furnished to taste with split units, sparkling PVC ceiling, ceiling fans, 20 desktop computers, books worth N7m.

Both schools wore a new face as the project also involved tiling the floors of the libraries, including painting of the entire school blocks and electrical repairs.    The Executive Director of Gabasawa Women and Children Initiative, Mrs. Doris Yaro, congratulated the benefitting schools and urged the students to take advantage of the facility. She stressed the need for voracious reading, describing it as a pathway to success.

 
Yaro charged the students to invest their time wisely and regain their pride as the future leaders of the society.  According to her, early years in life are arguably the most important period in the formation of a child’s personality and social behaviour. “Education is the most basic insurance against poverty”, she stressed.   She maintained that education offers brighter opportunities and empowers people with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to conquer the future.

 
“Education is all about reading, understanding and development, and as such, reading opportunity has been strengthened through this project. We are not just here to launch a project but to set a pace and a footprint in achieving future expectancy for our children (the students). Western Union in partnership with our foundation has opened the doors. The students, today, have the opportunity to read and succeed,” she said.

 
Yaro said education remains the best investments one can make in a child’s life. According to her, Gabasawa Foundation was established in 1990 to advocate girl child education, women empowerment, poverty alleviation and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.  She explained that the group had in the past 25 years extended a helping hand to over 5, 000 families and 13, 000 children from various parts of the country.

 
“What we do for them is that we give them psycho-social, nutritional and educational support. We also create the awareness on general well being. Due to the insurgency, we closed our office in Borno State but still operate from other places. Five of the girls that escaped from Boko Haram camp in Sambisa, we have to help them with scholarship to study in United States of America. They were six but one of them was pregnant and could not make it to America,” she said.