Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s leading downstream marketing company and licensee of the Oando retail brand, OVH Energy, has partnered with the Oando Foundation in the global push for quality education.
These organizations recently embarked on the upgrade of a Model Primary School in Onne, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, which is a beneficiary school under the Oando Adopt-A-School Program and is within OVH Energy’s host community.
The strategic partnership comes on the heels of OVH Energy’s efforts to foster the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal Four (4) on Basic Education, aimed at holistic improvement of public primary schools to improve access to qualitative education and impact positively on learning outcomes while reinforcing the Company’s commitment to improving access to basic education.
Speaking about the initiative, Chief Executive Officer, OVH Energy Marketing Ltd., Huub Stokman, reiterated OVH Energy’s commitment to enabling a serene and conducive learning environment in its host communities. He said, “Education is a basic requirement for every child and the primary level is especially important as it lays the foundation for growth that is why we decided to embark on this project alongside Oando Foundation. This initiative brings us closer to our aim of delivering social value, building cordial and sustainable relationships within our areas of business operations.
“We are thankful to Oando Foundation for the opportunity to leverage its platform and pedigree as an independent charity with a mission to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Nigerian public primary schools. We hope to continue more of these initiatives, confident that together with the government and other corporates, quality education will be achievable in Nigeria”, Stokman added.
The Head of Oando Foundation, Mrs. Adegoke said the Foundation leverages strategic partnerships with various local/international organizations to mobilize resources to its adopted school communities.
She reiterated the Foundation’s commitment to providing a conducive learning environment for every child. “Model Primary School, Onne is a beneficiary of the Foundation’s Adopt-a-school initiative which is ultimately aimed at improving learning outcomes. Since adoption in 2008, we have renovated of a block of six classrooms, supplied teaching and learning materials, strengthened capacity of 15 in-school teachers on innovative teaching methods, awarded scholarship to 16 pupils, 7 of which have graduated from secondary school, and strengthened the capacity of Education Management Information System (EMIS) officials from Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Ekara Onne Local Government on data management for quality education delivery.
“We utilize an integrated approach to school improvement which is exactly what we have done with this school”. She said that Oando Foundation partnered with OVH Energy to upgrade the school and has been equipped with several new units of furniture for pupils and teachers, provision of teaching and learning materials, renovation of a block of classroom and general repairs”.
She further stated that to provide infrastructural upgrade and donate furniture for both pupils and teachers is a testament of the Foundation’s obligation as an SDG 4 (Basic Education) champion. “OVH Energy had supported our work through the years and we believe that partnership is key to scaling education in Nigeria and we request all stakeholders – Government, businesses, communities and innovators to join us to transform lives through education”, she added.
Beyond its primary mandate to support the Nigerian Government in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 through its Adopt-A-School Initiative (AASI) – aimed at holistic improvement of public primary schools, Oando Foundation is also committed to building strategic partnerships that will address critical barriers to basic education attainment in its adopted school communities; thus deepening the scale and impact of our interventions at the community level.
The upgrade of the primary school commenced following a needs assessment conducted by OVH Energy in June 2019 in conjunction with other critical stakeholders including the school’s management, Onne Community Development Committee, Onne Council of Chiefs and representatives of the Rivers State Ministry of Education Primary School Board Inspectorate.
OVH Energy has in the past as part of its educational corporate social responsibility initiatives awarded scholarship to 14 under graduate students in 5 host communities in Lagos and Rivers States.
