Zenith Bank partners NCF, CLICE to curtail child labour

To commemorate the 2019 World Day Against Child Labour, Zenith Bank Plc has partnered Neighbourhood Care-Well Foundation (NCF), Comfort Literacy Intervention & Capacity Enhancement (CLICE) Foundation to organise a programme designed to curtail child labour through education for children from low-income earning families.

The initiative serves as one of Zenith Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS). It is aimed at empowering about 250 children from 10 public primary and secondary schools to stay in school rather than working to earn pennies.

Speaking at the programme held at Bayside, Bayelsa State, CLICE Foundation executive director, Comfort Onyaga, said the project is aimed at raising awareness against child labour in Nigeria.

Onyaga noted that the programme will sensitize pupils, students and the general public on the importance of education as well as advocating support for school children with tuition and learning materials for one academic year.

According to Onyaga, the project has selected 60 primary 5 school pupils and 10 junior secondary school students as direct beneficiaries from low-income families in BaySide and its neighbouring communities in Cross River State.

Onyaga, who explained that beneficiaries will be selected based on gender and household income, said the programme will cater for the children’s tuition, exam fees and back-to-school kit and study materials.

NCF executive director Vicky Emmah-Emah said the scholarship award was to support payment of three terms school fees including exams fee for those selected from primary five and JSS 3 to relieve their parents.

Emmah-Emah stated that child labour is mostly practised by the rich in the society but such should be reported to the police and government through social welfare ministry.

Zenith Bank representative, Umoh Ekpenyong, said Zenith Bank is sensitive to issues affecting its environment and will continue to support the people of Cross River state through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS).

Ekpenyong noted that children can only take their place in the future if they are given access to their rights to education.