Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Heritage Bank Plc has taken a step further in promoting sustainable banking practices by helping to mitigate hunger by providing for the less privileged and reducing the adverse effect of food insecurity in the country.
The financial institution recently collaborated with Adyva Foods’ project tagged Feed a Kid by feeding no fewer than 500 underprivileged children.
According to the CEO of Adyva Foods, Ms Anyagwa Adanma, the idea of the partnership was to feed over 500 less privileged kids with cooked food and provide them with goody bags containing stationery, and educational materials to mention but a few.
“I will advise parents to ensure they educate their children and teach them the savings culture and financial literacy for future benefits,” she said.
Also, a partner with Adyva’s Feed a Kid project, Ms Nkechi Toluwani, described Heritage Bank as “a supportive bank,” noting that the incentive behind feed a kid is huge, therefore, for Heritage Bank to partner with Adyva Foods to feed kids shows how compassionate, kind, and responsible the bank is to people’s welfare.”
On her part, the Acting Group Head of Corporate Communications of Heritage Bank, Ms Ozena Utulu, said the lender has “continued to put sustainability at the heart of our decision-making for the sake of humanity and the bank’s own bottom line because a healthy planet is the backbone of nearly every industry on earth.”
“Heritage Bank’s partnership in this event offers us an opportunity to fulfil our quota in adherence to the sustainable banking practices that ensure that banks and related institutions have the interest of their stakeholders at the core of their strategies,” she added.
Ms Utulu also advised parents to explore the advantages and utilize the huge benefits the bank’s BUD account hold for their children.
“Access to cash-backed loan by parent/guardian/sponsor for school fees/education loan. You can access up to 70 per cent of your balance held with the bank as cash backed loan.
“The customer must have run the BUD account for a minimum of 6 months to access the cash-backed loan. Ease of saving through standing order instructions; access to exclusive events, free participation in the BUD MINI career mentoring and coaching sessions once a year, and an opportunity to act as a Heritage Bank executive committee member for one day,” she stated.
Statistics show that an average Nigerian lives on less than a dollar per day and this makes it difficult for a lot of families to feed properly. An estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
In an analysis of 91 countries, including Nigeria, the UNICEF report finds that half of the children aged 6-23 months globally are not being fed the minimum recommended number of meals a day. Two-thirds do not consume the minimum number of food groups they need to thrive.
