Sterling Bank Plc announced a collaboration with Community Pot, a social impact project, to launch a pilot project in Lagos to feed 500 malnourished children throughout Nigeria.
Mrs Olapeju Ibekwe, chief executive officer of Sterling One Foundation, said at the project’s launch, ‘Adopt a Child to Recovery,’ that Sterling Bank is extremely passionate about children and their health.
She stated that the bank was thrilled to be a part of the project and that it would help the Community Pot project feed 200 children for three months by providing them with Toddler Protein, a baby formula. Whole Eats Foundation produces the feed for feeding children.
Also speaking, convener and initiator of the Community Pot project, Mrs Kemi Jeje, said: “We want to make an impact. We want to make a difference through the initiative.” She noted that at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) is in alignment with the purpose of the project.
“According to statistics, 420,000 children die yearly in Nigeria as a result of malnutrition and until one sees one of them, it is just a number one is hearing”.
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She said about 2.5 million children in the country are deemed to be malnourished and the project would try to reach as many of these children as possible, describing Community Pot as a social impact project that is not-for-profit but to add value to the community.
Mrs Mofolusade Sonaike, founder and CEO of Mumpreneur Women Support Initiative, introduced the Toddler Protein feed to nursing mothers at the event, while Mrs Temitope Akinyemi, CEO of Marvel Natural Products, described the project as phenomenal.
Mrs Precious Ogbo, a nurse at the Primary Healthcare Centre in Opebi, Lagos, spoke about the importance of breastfeeding children at a young age before introducing solid food.
She suggested that nursing mothers who couldn’t afford infant formula add Soya milk to pap drinks for their babies for them to eat healthily. Several nursing mothers and their children, as well as other stakeholders, attended the event.
