By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
As part of the United Bank for Africa’s Read Africa Initiative, UBA-SL on Thursday 15th June, 2023, handed over ten cartoons of literature books to the National Commission for children (NCC) for onward distribution to children in the country.
Welcoming the Bank to the commission, Addie Valcarcel, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator for NCC, thanked the bank for their good will and for the confidence reposed on them to distribute the books on their behalf, stating that it shows the commission is doing well as part of their good track record as an institution.
‘’Well, we are elated especially for the fact that UBA has got great confidence in us, which means that the commission is doing very well because of our track record, so that we will distribute the book on their behalf. So I will say we are proud and very happy about this,’’ she said.
She furthered that the NCC was enacted by an Act of Parliament with the mandate to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child, and also to oversee part 3 of the Child Rights Act of 2007.
‘’We advise government on anything that has to do with children’s issues and welfare in the country, which is basically what we do as a commission,’’ Addie Valcarcel added.
Sallieu Sesay, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications of UBA-SL, said that they were at the National Commission for Children to donate books as part of their corporate social responsibility, which is to give back to communities where the bank operates.
‘’On behalf of the United Bank for Africa, we want to donate ten cartoons of literature books, as part of the Bank’s support to education, because as we all know, that the foundation of this government agenda to the development of children in Sierra Leone is education. Thank you. It’s a total of 520 pieces, ten cartoons, which we are giving to the commission, and since June 16th is the day of the African Child, often observed with a series of activities, the Commission can help us distribute these books to the kids,’’ he said.
Sallieu Sesay maintained that the whole idea of the book donation is to improve the art of reading among young people and imbibe the culture of reading in the country, adding that as a bank, they are supporting publishers to publish their books, and also that the literature books they are donating is written by a Nigerian writer and are not for sale.
‘’As a bank, we are not only focusing on making money, but we also want to give back to society. The UBA Foundation is the charity arm of the bank, through which the institution gives back to society. We have four pillars; one of them is education, which embraces the Read Africa Initiative. With the read Africa Initiative, during the day of the African Child that is celebrated every year, the bank and its subsidiaries, give out books to schools, and also identify government institutions to partner with them, so that they can distribute books,’’ Sallieu Sesay stressed.
The Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications UBA-SL added that for this year, they decided to partner with the children’s commission to distribute the books, as they are the lead government institution on children’s issues in the country, thus the need to entrust them with that responsibility.
‘’We also have the environmental pillar; wherein we support government in terms of funds on climate change. We also have special projects. During the covid -19 UBA-SL is one of the institutions that provided support to the government, with over $150,000 to fight the pandemic. We are doing a lot,’’ the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications added.
Receiving the books on behalf of the commission, the Finance and Resource Manager, Theodora Hanciles, on behalf of the Commissioners, thanked the bank for their support towards the Free Quality Education, whilst assuring the bank that the books will reach its intended beneficiaries.
‘’On behalf of the Commissioner, the Management and staff of the National Commission for Children, we want to say a very big thank you to UBA. We are really impressed and are grateful, and will make sure that these books reach the beneficiaries. We are really, really grateful that you are supporting the Free Quality education,’’ she assured.
Speaking on behalf of the Children’s Forum Network, Ibrahim Sorie Koroma, expressed happiness for the donated books, appreciating UBA-SL for their relentless effort in their contribution towards education in the country.
‘’ On behalf of children, we appreciate UBA a lot. We know our peers are going to benefit from these books, and we pray that this partnership continues. So, we appreciate UBA- SL for your relentless effort in education,’’ he concluded.
