23rd July, 2014
Lagos State deputy governor, Princess Adejoke Adefulire-Orelope, wife of Lagos state governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola and former commissioner of Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire all commended telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, for its corporate compassion programmes in the country.
The trio gave the commendation at the unveiling of Touching Lives, a revolutionary CSR programme by the company in Lagos last week.
The deputy governor who was represented by Mrs. Oluranti Odutola, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, expressed satisfaction with the role the telecoms operator is playing in helping bring succour and hope to underprivileged citizens in the country.
“This is a very good initiative that will help bring hope to many living among us. The truth remains that much is expected from companies like Airtel and it is good that the company is responding to these expectations.”
Wife of the Lagos State governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola eulogised the operator for the initiative which aims at transforming lives and inspiring help from those who can give such.
“Airtel is doing very well. They need to give back to the Society because it is obvious that Government alone cannot solve all the problems of the people. It is a laudable initiative,” said Dame Fashola who was represented by Mrs. Azizat Tijani.
On his own part, former Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and chieftain of the APC, Muiz Banire said the initiative by Airtel Nigeria is a call for everyone in privileged position to respond to the needs of others who have found themselves in challenging positions outside their choice.
Banire described the initiative as a weapon of arresting unrest and some socio-economic vices prevalent in the society today.
“I want to commend Airtel for this initiative. It is a wonderful one. It is a test for everyone in privileged position to see how we respond to the needs of others. It is also a win-win for both the company and the Nigerian people.”
Airtel Touching Lives, is a responsive revolutionary CSR intervention that focuses on enriching the quality of life of Nigerians while providing succour to the under-privileged members of the society. It marks a significant milestone in the company’s history of CSR interventions in the country.
The programme seeks to identify underprivileged persons with specific challenges, pains and struggles with the ultimate objective of providing the needed help to empower and enrich the lives of these individuals.
The programme allows Nigerians to nominate disadvantaged persons who are in need of care or special interventions. Entries can be sent in via SMS, phone calls to the short code 947 or via email to [email protected].
Also, nomination letters not more than 1000 words can be submitted at Airtel Showrooms, shops and dealers outlets nationwide. Interested people can also go to Airtel Facebook page and Airtel CSR/Touching Lives web page for further information.
Airtel Touching Lives Season 1 is scheduled to run on both satellite and terrestrial TV stations as a 13-week series with a weekly feature of two individual stories of beneficiaries of the project. It opens with a call for entries from the focus groups over a period of four weeks.