For the organisers of the popular Indomie Heroes Awards, the past 11 years of marking the annual episode are filled with pleasant memories indeed.
One of such stories is captured by Princess Esan, 8, a brave and heroic child in every sense of the word, whose timely intervention helped saved the life of her 10-year-old brother, Francis who was practically rescued from the jaws of death six years ago.
It all began on May 26, 2012. Fire engulfed the Esan’s home at Magodo, Lagos, when the family was sleeping. The thick smoke from the fire woke up the parents and created a barrier that prevented the parents from accessing their children. As a result, young Princess and her brother were trapped in their bedroom.
The parents began to wail for safety of the children, and strongly urged them to jump out. At a point, the entire four flats upstairs were ravaged with the furnace, even as there was no sound from the children. The parents lost hope of ever seeing their two lovely children alive again. Just when that hope was dashed, there came a cracking and crashing sound that shattered the window panes from the Esan’s flat. Then it was realised that Princess used her tiny elbows to break the louvres, carried and threw her brother out from the building. The brother landed in the hands of a neighbour before she followed suit. She suffered a third degree burnt from the incident.
Princess bore the scars from the rescue but not without a reward from Dufil Prima Foods. Princess was rewarded in the 2012 Indomie Independence Day Award (IIDA) celebration as the third place winner of the children-focused award. The award is from the stable of Dufil Prima Foods.
The IIDA award, which has been on for 11 years, has benefited 37 children below the age of 15. Started in 2008, the award rewards children who displayed heroic actions and ingenuity in their daily activities.
The award starts each year with the commissioning of a search team, whose responsibility is to comb every corner of the Nigerian streets and homes to search for these heroes for recognitions. When such heroes are found, the search team will then do a due diligence and interview eyewitnesses to ascertain the authenticity of the heroic acts. Once confirmed, such child would then be enlisted for the heroic award, whose grand finale is usually held in every October- the month of Nigeria’s Independence Day Celebration. Interested children, who are eligible for the award, could submit stories for the award through www.heroesofnigeria.com .
Dufil Prima Foods Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr. Girish Sharma, explained that the award is meant to celebrate children who have done extraordinary things in their various spheres of life. Sharma said: “The award is a reward for the valiant efforts of children who stood up against social ills, such as drug abuse, child labour, illiteracy, environmental pollution among others. IIDA also recognises children, who despite having limitations, have performed far beyond the ordinary and pushed the limits of courage and performance to a new level and reward children who make extraordinary sacrifices despite their social-economic limitations. In summary, the award honour children who are extraordinary but not celebrated; young, yet mature. Through the IIDA award, Indomie has become dear to the heart of every Nigerian as a brand that will go to any length in empowering young Nigerians specifically and the society in general.”
Justifying Dufil Prima Foods’ reward for the heroic children, the Managing Director of Dufil Prima Foods, Mr Deepak Singhal, said IIDA is a Corporate Social Responsibility for Indomie Instant Noodles to move Nigerian society forward at the long run.
“As a firm, Dufil Prima Foods is socially responsible in everything she does. As a firm, we yearn for a sustainable society. And we know children are key and fundamental in having a sustainable society. But sadly, children are often neglected for their great acts done to move or save the society from itself. However, Dufil Prima Foods-the makers of Indomie Instant Noodles, which is loved by all, especially children- feels that should not be. Children’s heroic acts need to be reinforced and appreciated with awards. Children, especially heroic ones, need to be celebrated and encouraged. And who knows, IIDA may just be spurring these children to take a path of leadership, as we have seen among of some of the winners. For these past 10 years, the award has been great and has resonated among children, parents, caregivers and other stakeholders.”
The IIDA celebration has always been attended by crème de la crème. The previous years had in attendance several notable Nigerians, including the Senator Representing Lagos East Federal Constituency, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora; the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan; the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina; the then President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Nike Akande; Ogun State First Lady, Mrs Olufunsho Amosun; Edo State First Lady, Mrs Betsy Obaseki; Lagos State former First Lady, Mrs Abimbola Fashola and former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mr Femi Pedro.
Other IIDA event attendees in the past included the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Sola David Borha; Fidelity Bank Executive Director, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; Professor of Surgery at the College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL), Prof.Wole Atoyebi; the Founder of Leap Africa, Mrs Ndidi Nwuneli; on- air personality, Yaw; Executive Director of Caleb Group of Schools, Mr Graham Stothard; rap artiste, Sound Sultan; Mr Kenny Ogungbe of Kennis Music; Bunmi Davies of Stand Up Nigeria, among others.
Dufil Prima Foods Head of Group Public Relations and Events Management, Mr Tope Ashiwaju stated that the IIDA celebration takes several criteria into consideration, while doing due diligence. “To be eligible for IIDA, children must be within the age bracket of 15 and below as at the time of engaging in heroic acts. So, when children, in the midst of enormous fear, stood their grounds and pulled strings to perform heroic acts, Indomie Instant Noodles is always there to reward them. Through the award, Indomie Instant Noodles also recognises talents and skills, which may be borne out of the desire to survive life’s harsh conditions and create means of livelihood for a better society.”