By Joseph S. Margai in Freetown, Sierra Leone
As part of its corporate social responsibilities, First Bank of Nigeria (FBNBank) Sierra Leone has last Friday donated assorted food items to the children at Don Bosco Fambul on Fort Street in Freetown and the aged at the King George IV Home of the Aged in Grafton, Western Area Rural District.
Speaking to pressmen after the donation on Friday, Sierra Leone’s FBNBank Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Adekunle Amujo, said the donation was part of their activities that they did from Monday to Friday last week, adding that since September 25-29, FBNBank was doing career counselling for pupils in various schools.
“We also did community services for people which included the cleaning of streets and communities, visitation to orphanages and presented the orphans with tokens. It was not the size of the donations that mattered but the fact that our staff voluntarily donated towards this initiative and that shows a sense of responsibility in society,” he said.
He noted that the assorted food items that were donated to both the home of the aged and Don Bosco Fambul, were not enough to last for months but the fact that, as a corporate entity in Sierra Leone, they were willing to give their support to alleviate the suffering of the beneficiaries, was worthwhile.
The FBNBank (SL) CEO said the children at Don Bosco Fambul and the aged at Grafton are in need of love, care and support, adding that all of the children at Don Bosco Fambul would have loved to be with their parents but circumstances have led them to be where they are.
“As a bank we put our customers first and we do that by delivering services that would meet their individual and organizations’ needs,” he said.
Receiving the donated items on behalf of the children at Don Bosco Fambul, Father Jose Valiplackel, said they were very grateful for the donated items especially because of the fact that they were preparing to buy some of the items that were donated.
“There are two hundred and twenty-one children at Don Bosco at the moment. 150 of that number are below the age of 18 and all of them are at their school going age,” he said.
He said the main challenges included accommodation for the children, babies’ food because they have children as low as one month old.
He said most of the children are admitted in nearby schools so that they could not face difficulties in returning home after school.
Father Valiplackel said the children were given to them by the government through the Office of National Security (ONS), adding that most of them were mudslide affected children.
“If government closes the camps where mudslide and flood victims are located, this camp here also at Don Bosco would be closed. But our only concern now is that if the government closes the camp on 15th November, 2017, we are afraid about the schooling of these children.
