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Tag: MTN FOUNDATION

  • MTN Foundation hosts masterclass for music scholars

    MTN Foundation MUSON scholars has been hosted to a masterclass with top Conductor/countertenor Daniel Taylor put together by the Foundation.

    The event held at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, with Canadian music experts, Daniel Taylor and Ellen Mcateer who are part of the entoourage.

    Taylor is the Head of Early Music and Professor of Voice at the University of Toronto, while  Mcateer is a Canadian Soprano and two-time recipient of the prestigious Richard Bradshaw Graduate Fellowship in Opera, along with numerous career-defining awards.

    Both tutors took the beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation MUSON scholarship programme through a series of singing techniques and patterns of voice modulations during stage performances. They also touched on the importance of exuding confidence while singing before an audience.

     

  • MTN Foundation hosts masterclass for music scholars

    MTN Foundation MUSON scholars has been hosted to a masterclass with top Conductor/countertenor Daniel Taylor put together by the Foundation.

    The event held at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, with Canadian music experts, Daniel Taylor and Ellen Mcateer who are part of the entoourage.

    Taylor is the Head of Early Music and Professor of Voice at the University of Toronto, while  Mcateer is a Canadian Soprano and two-time recipient of the prestigious Richard Bradshaw Graduate Fellowship in Opera, along with numerous career-defining awards.

    Both tutors took the beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation MUSON scholarship programme through a series of singing techniques and patterns of voice modulations during stage performances. They also touched on the importance of exuding confidence while singing before an audience.

  • MTN Exposes Youths to ICT in Kano State

    MTN Foundation has conducted a two-day empowerment scheme targeted at young adult in Kano state.

    Over five hundred young men and women were trained on the use of Information Communication Technology(ICT) and businesses in the digital and telecommunication space.

    This training was conducted after after a pilot scheme was held in Oyo State.

    For the two days experts from the MTN Foundations and its ecosystem partners – KPMG; IBM; DBI (Digital Bridge Institute) and Oracle came together to train the youths on the necessary skills in ICT and Business.

    The participants were also trained on the use of social media to increase customers for business and financial accounting.

     

     

     

    It was obvious that the participants were eager and ready to learn even as the training classes were break up into segments.The training hal were full to the capacity for the two days even as each class lasted for nine hours.

    Despite the fact that it was a sponsored empowerment programm which the participant did not pay to attend, at the end of each class the telecommunication firm foot the transport fare bill of all the participants.

    According to facilitators of the two day empowerment scheme, for Nigeria to become a technology driven economy nationwide, concentration and more efforts need to be channeled to the teeming youths and entrepreneurs also in the Northern part of the country.

    “If technology and education is fully embraced and adapted life-styles and businesses will improve, residents with empowerment skill will increase and there will be more employable youths and on the overall the high indices of unemployment rate will reduce.”

    The participants were also exposed to Selfie game during the fun side of the training program.

  • MTN Foundation brightens lives in communities

    One of Nigeria’s service providers, MTN, has been on a journey to “brighten” the lives of Nigerians for the past 17 years through its social investment vehicle, MTN Foundation. With the “What Can We Do Together (WCWDT)” initiative of the foundation, the company has extended its mission of brightening lives to local communities across Nigeria.

    The “What Can We Do Together (WCWDT)” initiative was launched in 2015 as part of the 10th anniversary of the MTN Foundation, and in just three years more than 10 million Nigerians in 400 communities and 347 local government areas across Nigeria have been impacted.

    The interventions by the MTN Foundation evidently reflect the MTN mission of transforming lives by addressing the pressing needs of the Nigerian populace for maximum impact. The MTN brand is passionate about Nigeria’s growth and is determined to help Nigerians reach the heights of their potential.

    This mission is executed through the three focus areas health, education and economic empowerment that are crucial to the socio-economic development of any society. The uncontrolled population growth has further contributed to the prevailing negative indices in these essential areas of our nationhood.

    The resultant effect of this model is the rapid deterioration of such projects. It is on this premise that the “What Can We Do Together” initiative was introduced in order to ensure that social investments truly reflect the burning needs of the benefiting communities. The hand-in-hand principle on which the initiative rests was once summarised by MTN Nigeria Chairman, Dr. Pascal Dozie, with the words of the 26th President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt, who said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Benefiting communities under the initiative are chosen through a nomination process that allows any Nigerian resident to nominate a community for possible selection. The nominated communities are scrutinised through a verification conducted by an expert verification team. Successful communities are subsequently enlisted to benefit from the initiative.

    To date, MTN Foundation, through the “What Can We Do Together” initiative, has delivered 40 transformers, 40 borehole installations, and 14,200 items of school furniture to students who previously had to sit on sandy floors to receive lessons across 347 local government areas in Nigeria. A total of 66 orphanages have received highly essential household items and 80 primary healthcare centres have been supplied with vital medical equipment.

    Speaking on the success of the last edition of the initiative, the Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma, said that the executed projects were selected from a pool of thousands of nominations by members of the public in Phases 1 and 2. “At the end, 200 communities were chosen to benefit in Phase 1, another 200 communities in Phase 2 and announcements were made in the print, electronic and digital media platforms. We are pleased to report that all the 200 projects in Phase 1 have been successfully implemented, while all the 200 projects in Phase 2 are at various stages of delivery and installation,” Ugboma said.

    The Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Dr. Pascal Dozie, expressed his delight at the support of Nigerians in helping the foundation reach its goal of touching lives in the beneficiary communities. “We could not have come this far in impacting 400 communities across the country through this initiative without the support of our customers and the nominators who demonstrated their belief in us by nominating their communities to benefit from the projects and show of loyalty in patronising our products and services,” Dozie said at the MTN Foundation’s “What Can We Do Together” appreciation event in Lagos.

    On his part, the Chairman of the MTN Foundation, Prince Julius Adeluyi-Adelusi, praised the nominators for being true change agents. “Through your nominations, 20 communities have received 500KVA transformers; another 20 communities have received 650ft boreholes.  Supply of medical equipment to 80 primary healthcare centres and 80 schools have received sets of school furniture because of your nominations. Indeed, you are change agents in your communities today.

    “Nigeria has had its fair share of challenges; a reality that can’t be denied, but if we work together we may be able to collectively combat these challenges. The MTN Foundation is here to improve the lot of Nigerians, and the “What Can We Do Together” initiative is a further testament to the shared success philosophy of MTN. The initiative encourages Nigerians to be more aware of the individual power to trigger positive change, one community at a time. As billionaire and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar said ‘Long-term sustainable change happens if people discover their own power.’

  • Emotions as MTN Foundation fetes the blind

    IT was a very emotional atmosphere when the MTN Foundation visited Betheda’s home for the blind in Mushin area of Lagos on Valentine’s Day. During the visit, the foundation presented the school with loads of foodstuffs and beverages enough to go round for a month.

    The visit which comes up yearly by the foundation took a new turn this year by spreading its benefit to all 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    “The reason we are here is to show love, that is what MTN Foundation is about. Particularly to those who are in difficult situations or vulnerable groups. We’ve been involved with the blinds and other persons with disabilities for a long time, that’s our thing, so we give out all kinds of things” says Steven Amuwa MTN Foundation evaluation coordinator.

    “The selection was quite rigorous this year, Senator Oluremi Tinubu nominated this school this year and there are also other people who nominates across the country.”

    •MTN Foundation evaluation coordinator, Steven Amuwa presenting the gifts to the school
    •MTN Foundation evaluation coordinator, Steven Amuwa presenting the gifts to the school

    Expressing her joy, the Founder Bathesda Home for the Blind, Mrs. Chioma Ohakwe revealed that it is the first time a big organization like MTN Foundation is coming in to support by presenting gifts items

    According to her, “The presentation by MTN is very good and we are excited about it because at least for another month we will not have any feeding challenge. There are beverages, cereals, rice, etc this will really come in handy for an upward of one month and beyond. I say a big kudos to them and I pray God almighty will bless each and every one of their staffs and the organization. They grow from strength to strength.”

    Because it is a private organization, Mrs. Ohakwe revealed that the gifts will relieve the school from feeding worries for a whole month and they can save money to pay the staff. “Just like I said, we sell our crafts to churches and other places and with this visit by MTN, we will not have to buy food for some time and that will again save us some money and some presentations are also made in cash.”

    Head student of the school, Anuchaogu Queen, thanked the foundation for their gesture.

    Shet said: “We are very happy because we are always excited when people like you visit us. We are also very happy when our needs are mentioned and people like MTN foundation provides them for us. When we don’t eat well we get upset and it slows us down because without our sight we make use of our brains and our brains need to be nourished for it to function properly. In addition, I will like MTN foundation to further assist us with materials for our academic pursuits.”

  • ‘Why MTN Foundation supports arts’

    ‘Why MTN Foundation supports arts’

    MTN’s interest in Nigeria is beyond telecommunication. For some years, major artistic events have received the support of the telecom giant.

    Of late, the MTN Foundation was a major sponsor of two topflight musicals, Saro… the musical and Wakaa … the musical all produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters.

    With such commitments, the foundation has continued to express its support for Nigeria’s artistic and cultural expressions, as a way of engaging its talented youths in fruitful endeavours, so as to take as many as possible off the street.

    The Foundation’s Executive Secretary, Noni Ugbomah, told The Nation during the presentation of Wakaa…The Musical in Abuja recently that the firm’s promotion of arts and culture is also indirectly boosting Nigeria’s rich culture and diversity.

    She noted that Nigeria has lots of talented youths who are performing amazing things in the arts.

    “Promoting arts and culture, for MTN, is promoting Nigeria’s rich culture and diversity. We’ve got lots of young talents. The young people performing are amazing. We just came back from London with Saro and it was a sold-out show.

    ‘’Now, we have come to Abuja as well, and it’s about the independence celebration. Wakaa! is a strong narrative about Nigeria. Lots of kudos for Bolanle and we want to encourage other production houses in Nigeria; there’s so much talent to harness.

    “Over the years, people moved typically away from anything that is authentically Nigerian to all western (European); that is why we call this a movement. Live theatre takes a lot of skills and we’re so happy to be part of it,” she added.

    It would be recalled that in the Lagos, London and Abuja performances, Bolanle Austeen-Peters production had a supporting partner in MTN Foundation.

    Like most of the shows including the London outings, the Abuja presentation was not only attended by top government functionaries, including Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, his wife, Dolapo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, MTN Foundation Chairman Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, but it was also sold out.

  • MTN Foundation’s footprints in Rivers rural areas

    MTN Foundation’s footprints in Rivers rural areas

    No fewer than 400 communities have benefited from the MTN Foundation  across the country.

    Speaking at a dinner party organised for the nominators in the Southsouth and  Southeast by the MTNF in Port Foundation, Rivers State, the Director of the Foundation, Reginald Okeya, said the Foundation received 121,000 nominations for 400 projects the company budgeted for in the two edition, having received over 91,000 nomination this year.

    “By the time screening was completed and communities were shortlisted for verification, over 1000 communities were visited for verification to ensure suitable project sights with the help of the nominators before we could arrive at the final conclusion of where projects should be sighted.

    “To embark on a successful implementation of any project, time and money is needed;  N1.01 billion has been spent in this initiative since it started, in 2015 with N548 million spent the phase two of the project.

    “The Foundation has so far invested over N18 billion to execute various projects in 550 locations across the 36 states of the federal including the federal capital territory. We do this because we are committed to Nigeria and will remain committed,” he said.

    Statistics of projects executed showed that the most frequently nominated projects are school furniture, hospital equipment and electricity transformers.

    Over five communities in Rivers benefited from the 2017 edition. One of the communities is Odufo, a community in Etche Local Government Area  where a water borehole was built.

    Community members, chiefs, men, women and youths, could not hide their joy and appreciations to the Foundation.

    They also thanked their son, Goodhope Amadi for choosing the project for them.

    An opinion leader and representative of the community at the project site, Pastor Richard Amadi, said the water project has rejuvenated the  people of the area as they no longer visit the oil polluted community stream for their daily water use.

    He said: “Before the project came, we get water from individual bore holes, while many more go to the stream but the stream water is not pure and healthy for drinking but we use, it was all that we had to get freely.

    “We actually do have power around here but it is not stable, so when it happens like that, members of the community willingly contribute some money to fuel the generator to pump the water.”

    Madam Cordelia Nwala, a mother and farmer as well as Oliver Nwala, who owns a commercial cassava grinding machine, said the water project has alleviated their problems.

    Mrs. Nwala said: “Before now we go through so much stress and spend money to get water but all that have become a thing of the past, we are indeed very grateful and said big thank you to MTN.”

    The Paramount Ruler of the community, Hyacinth Echefu, said: “I don’t know what work we have done for MTN to deserve this very generosity. Thank God the project has come up alive already and we are enjoying it and we are very grateful.”

    Mr. Lebari Wilfred from Kpor community of Tai who  got a set of school desks for her community school, said the exercise is free of any fraud, scam or flux.

    The MTNF Director said: “MTN would continue to impact positively to the lives of Nigerians as long as they continue to patronise the network. But said the country should endeavour to stabilise its political and economic policies to attract more projects to more rural communities to facilitate development across the country.”

    In his welcome remarks at the dinner in Port Harcourt, the General Manager East, Obinna Nweje, described the “What can we do together” initiative as a veritable move through which the  telecom company partner stakeholders to promote social development, economic empowerment to improve  the lives and well-being of the people, based on nominations received from these community.

    Nweje noted that “interactions with some of our nominators continue to show that the particular interventions implemented in their communities is for them, dream come true.”

    He appealed to the benefiting communities to own the facilities deployed in their communities, “they belong to us and we need to ensure that they serve the purpose for which they were set up. This is the only way the usefulness of this initiative can be sustained. We cannot allow these assets to lie fallow, be misused stolen or damaged, as this will erode all the progress that has been made so far and take us back to square one.” He appealed.

    The Deputy Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Marshall Uwom, praised MTN for its show of love to Rivers communities and the country.

  • Think like there’s no box, Ezegbo, Hart charge Nigerian youths

    Nigerian youths have been charged to be pragmatic in their approach toward addressing issues they might be dealing with in their quest to create and sustain a winning idea for empowerment and development. In dealing with these issues, the youths have been counselled to “think like there is no box” and show greater ingenuity to counter the challenges. 

    This counsel was given by the Senior Special Adviser to the Abia State government on Public Communication, Mr Sam Hart and the Managing Director of SLOT, Nnamdi Ezegbo, at the launch of the MTN Foundation Scholars Alumni and Conference held in Owerri, Imo state. 

    The conference billed as an annual event, will bring together the graduate beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation Scholarship schemes: Scholarship for the Science and Technology students (STSS) and Scholarship Scheme for the Blind Students (SSBS). 

    Rather than sitting back and sulking about the current economic challenges, Hart, who is also the promoter of the ‘Made in Aba’ initiative said the youths, “should not think outside the box but they should think like there is no box. Challenges will come, failure will come but they are necessities to succeed. You need to be resilient to sustain a winning idea and you must believe in yourself.”

    On his part, the Managing Director of SLOT, Nnamdi Ezegbo recounting how he started SLOT technologies, advised the participants to always be prepared for challenges because the road to success will never be smooth. Only determination will make them succeed. 

    Ezegbo went philosophical when he said, “my strategy for operating SLOT is to create solutions. The environment will never be perfect. There is no perfect time for you to strike at success. Every time is the best but you need to understand the times.” 

    Ezegbo crystallising the SLOT acronym said, “SLOT means Solution, Leadership, Opportunity and Technology. These are the four principles that drive our existence.” 

    “The entrance of Tecno into Nigeria was a solution from SLOT to get Nigerians to have a single phone that has multiple SIM. Tecno was created to meet a need and it has become the backbone of my riding to success.” 

    On leadership: “It is about understanding yourself. You need to create an environment to continue to learn, while at the same time you must identify the unique opportunities you hope to solve with technology,” said Ezegbo. 

    Admonishing the beneficiaries, Director, MTN Foundation, Mr Dennis Okoro, said they should see the scholarship as a rare opportunity that must be well utilised. For the alumni, Okoro said: “Now that you have all gained and have been empowered, it is essential that you show yourselves as worthy ambassadors of the programme. Feel free to exhibit your creativity positively and contribute your quota to the development of the country.” 

    The conference will also hold in Abuja and Lagos with Tonye Cole, Bolanle Austin-Peters and Chika Ofili confirmed as speakers for the locations. 

    The aim of the MTNF Scholars Alumni Conference is to give beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme opportunities to meet with successful Nigerian entrepreneurs, that will share their success stories of impact and value to inspire them as they launch themselves into the world as agents of value creation and change. The theme of the conference is, Creating a Winning Idea.

  • MTN Foundation brightens 200 communities

    MTN Foundation brightens 200 communities

    In keeping to its commitment of improving the quality of lives in communities, MTN Foundation has started the installation of several  projects in 200 verified locations across the country, under its What Can We Do To¬gether initiative Phase 2.

    The installation phase of the intervention comes after verification visits were paid to 1,085 communities that made the shortlist across the country. The Foundation will provide 20 transformers, 20 boreholes, 80 school furniture and 80 primary health care centres across all six geo-political zones in the country.

    Speaking on the ongoing installations, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma, said the prompt commencement of work in the communities is a demonstration of the Foundation’s commitment to improving the quality of life in our communities.

    “MTN Foundation’s What Can We Do Together initiative is a unique project that aims at putting smiles on the faces of individuals. Now that we are in the installation stage, we assure you that the intervention will continue in the same seamless manner that the first phase was executed in.

    “At MTN Foundation, we are pleased to sustain and improve on the huge success recorded in the first phase. It is heart-warming to see the eagerness with which Nigerians are willing to partner with MTN Foundation in its unrelenting commitment to complement government’s efforts in the development of infrastructure across various communities in the country,” she added.

     

  • Niger to build 70 PHC

    Niger State government has disclosed plans to build 70 new Primary Healthcare Centers under its Primary Healthcare Under one Roof (PHCUOR) programme this year.
    The state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, who made this disclosure while commissioning one of the four MTN Foundation Maternal Ward Support Projects in the state at General Hospital, Lapai, said that the centres will form the first phase of the 274 centres to offer 24 hours comprehensive medical service in each of the wards in the state.
    “In the next one year, at least 70 PHCOUR service facilities would be rolled out across Niger State through massive renovation, equipping and manpower improvement.”
    He said the neglect of the Primary Healthcare over the years informed the resolve of his administration to give priority attention to this level of healthcare delivery with a view to reducing significantly maternal and childhood mortality in the state adding that his administration was committed to providing qualitative, comprehensive and affordable healthcare to the people.
    However, the governor said that government’s efforts at transforming the healthcare sector would require private sector and public spirited individual partnership.
    Commending MTN Foundation, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril said his ministry and the donor have engaged in mutually beneficial partnership in the last three years.
    Earlier, the chairman of MTN Foundation, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi said their initiative which is spread across six states with each from the geo-political zones of the country was a step to address and reduce infant and maternal mortality in the country.
    Represented by Alhaji Muhammadu Liman, a director in the foundation, the chairman reiterated the resolve of the foundation to partner with government and other well-meaning individuals to contribute positively to the development of the state.
    In a related development, residents in the state have decried  the non availability of health workers in the existing health facilities calling on government to work towards recruiting more hands to meet the health needs of the people.
    The residents who made their stand known during a town hall meeting organized by White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria in Chachanga and Wushishi local government of Niger state to address the need for government accountability in the health sector.
    They lamented that they have no place to lay their health complain stating that they do not know about the Ward Health Development Committee set up by the government because the committee is not active.
    They also complained about the attitude of the health care staff on ground which needs to be addressed stressing that most healthcare facilities needs to be equipped to be able to take care of women.
    A traditional Birth Attendant, Binta Abdullahi said that she is surprised to hear that there are committee taking care of health issues in the wards and local government adding that most people are not aware of it as they (birth attendants) still receive pregnant women for delivery.
    She called on government to ensure that the birth attendants are carried along to enable them save more lives especially as most women arrive to them in critical conditions.
    The National Coordinator of The White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, Mr. Tonte Ibraye assured the residents that they will work towards improving citizen engagement in the policy making and service delivery in the health sector in the state.
    Ibraye stressed on the need for government to remain accountable and deliver on the commitments in ensuring that the citizens, especially pregnant women, get decent and respectable health care.
    The town hall meetings in chachanga and Wushishi local government areas had in attendance about 300 people out of which 97 per cent indicated that they are not aware of health policies, 86 percent stated that the Ward Development Committee for Health is not functional while 90 per cent indicated that there is no platform for  accountability in the health sector.