Determined to further inspire Nigerian children towards academic excellence and promote quality education in Nigeria, Lafarge Africa plc, in partnership with Ovie Brume Foundation, has commenced the second edition of Lafarge-Ovie Brume Literacy Competition.
The competition is organised yearly to promote literacy skills across public primary school pupils in the country and to engage them in activities that will showcase their ability to read, write and spell correctly.
According to the organisers, the 2015 edition of the literacy competition will begin with the first regional phase in Port Harcourt on the 29th of July. The train will, thereafter, move to other geo-political zones of the South-East (July 30), North –East (August 8), North-Central (August 12), North-West (August 15) and South-West (September 16), before the grand finale in Lagos on the 29th of September 2015.
Peter Hoddinott, group MD/CEO, Lafarge Africa plc, said the company remains committed to promoting academic excellence among pupils in primary schools across the country and creating opportunities for them to sharpen their literacy skill and build their self-confidence in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
“Education is the bedrock of development of any country and the gateway to success in life. This is why Lafarge Africa is keen on creating opportunities and platforms where Nigerian children will be given the needed support to help them realise the potentials in them and achieve excellence. We recorded remarkable success from the first edition and testimonials abound. More importantly, its impact on pupils and on the development of education in Nigeria is gradually growing” he noted.
Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, executive director, Ovie Brume Foundation, said the vision of Ovie Brume Foundation is “a society everyone is educated and empowered” and by so doing creating an enabling environment for young people through mobilising and dedicating resources for the provision of formal and informal education, secured livelihood, social and policy brokerage.
The Lafarge-Ovie Brume Literacy Competition features literacy tests, essay/summary writing and spelling bees to evaluate reading and writing abilities. It is one of the CSR initiatives powered by employees of Lafarge Africa in partnership with the Ovie Brume Foundation, a non-governmental organisation focused on youth education and empowerment.
It would be recalled that last year, Akwa Ibom State emerged winners in the maiden edition of the literacy competition to win a Kindle e-learning tablet. Gombe State hosted the first regional competition for the North East region, Ibadan for the South West region and Port Harcourt for the South-South region. The finale was held in Lagos, with winners from these regions competing for the overall first place.
