Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In the spirit of the festive season and to give back to society, a leading B2B e-commerce platform in Nigeria, Alerzo Limited, has donated an undisclosed amount of money to burn survivors through the Sebastine Foundation for Burn Survivors.
Speaking at the unveiling of the foundation in Lagos, the CEO of Alerzo, Mr Adewale Opaleye, stated that the gesture was to help victims of societal hazards regain their sense of belonging and become productive citizens.
“As a business that is fully involved in daily activities of small enterprises, we know what it means for people to make a living for themselves. For those who have challenges like burn survivors, it becomes more difficult for them to overcome the mental difficulties and become productive again.
“So, this gesture is to help them get back on their feet financially, be able to put themselves to productive ventures and ultimately move on in life. We hope that this will help them in their quest for full recovery and propel them to financial independence,” he said.
Sebastine Foundation for Burn Victims was created by Sebastine Enechi – who is also the chief executive officer of Shago Limited, a payment platform acquired by Alerzo earlier in the year – with the aim of helping burn survivors feel comfortable in their skin and ultimately improve their lives to be an integral part of the society.
“The foundation is aimed at helping burn survivors like me fit back into society, to help them look beyond their looks and scars and believe that they can do more regardless of the conditions they find themselves in.
“We plan to support them physically, morally, financially, provide medical diagnosis, treatment, post-treatment support, scholarship, we want to encourage them to keep seeing the brighter part of life,” Mr Enechi added.
Part of the ongoing plan, according to Sebastine, is to collaborate with government organizations, hospitals like burn centres, the Red Cross, Fire Service Commission, private organizations and the general public.
With collaborators on board, Sebastine claimed that the foundation will be able to work out programmes that will help uplift the life of burn survivors while reaching out to the victims in burn centres across Nigeria.
The foundation presented an educational scholarship of N500,000 to two victims during the launch ceremony, and another N500,000 to support one victim in the Burns and Plastic Centre, Igbobi, Lagos.
The beneficiaries, among others, included Ms Oyebola Oyeduntan, Michael Sam Odinnakachukwu, and National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi.
