UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) plc, says it will continue to seek ways to improve the financial literacy of the African child through education, as it celebrates the International Day of the African Child.
The International Day of the Africa Child is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate children in Africa, recognising the courage of students who marched for their right to better education in Soweto, South Africa, and is marked annually on June 16.
Patricia Aderibigbe, group head, Human Resources of UBA, while speaking on Monday at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos, where the Foundation brought together students from various secondary schools, said the UBA Foundation centred on three key pillars: Education, Empowerment and Environment.
According to Aderibigbe, the bank, through its Foundation, recognises the huge role education and indeed a good reading culture play in the lives of the youth.
“The UBA Foundation is committed to impacting the lives of the African youth across the continent. As a pan-African institution, we believe that the future of Africa lies in her youth. For this reason, UBA Foundation is actively involved in facilitating educational projects and bridging the literacy-wide gap on a pan-African scale.
“The UBA Foundation is helping rekindle the dwindling reading and literacy culture amongst African youths as they pursue their education. Over time we have worked with various schools and educational institutions across the continent to ensure that the UBA Foundation continues to traverse the continent, contributing positively to the development of African youth, especially in the area of education,” she said.
Also, the bank through its Foundation aims to make sustainable improvements in the lives of the needy and under-privileged by supporting entrepreneurship programmes, such as social entrepreneurship schemes, which benefit the community at large, she said.
Franklin Erebor, chief credit officer of the bank, while speaking on financial literacy and the need to plan for the future, told the pupils that it was important for them to manage their funds and finances.
He said, “You are not too young to start to plan for the future, as what you do now when you are young will impact greatly on you later in live. So, it is essential that you have an account, which should be well monitored to ensure that it fulfils the purpose.
“You need to be financially literate, as this will help to open your eyes to the opportunities inherent and help you make wise decisions to benefit from the investments.”
Some schools represented at the event included Akande Dahunsi Memorial High School, Lagos; Government Senior College, Maroko, Aunty Ayo International School, Ikoyi, and Wahab Folawiyo Senior High School, Ikoyi.
