By Peter Egwuatu
The Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Oscar N. Onyema has unveiled its Non Governmental Organisation , NGO that will provide selfless and sustainable high impact programmes that will positively affect the society.
The unveiling of the NGO known as Oscar N. Onyema, ONO Foundation, in Lagos at the weekend was witnessed by a cross section of dignitaries from media, development work, organised private sector amongst others.
The Oscar N. Onyema Foundation is a not-for-profit and non-political organization set up to transform the lives of less privileged children and youth in Nigeria. The primary goal of the Foundation is to support the continued effort to expand access to formal education in Nigeria, especially amongst indigent children and youth, raise the bar in academic achievements and encourage positivity and hope to the less privileged families and communities.
The Foundation plans to achieve this by investing in four priority areas: Mentorship Programme, Scholarship Management Programme, Workforce Programnme and Home Visitation.
Speaking at the event, Onyema noted that ONO Foundation is positioned with the goal of unlocking access to formal education for less privileged youths. “ONO Foundation will focus primarily on providing safety nets for the less privileged children and youths, by ameliorating the issues of lack of guidance and providing educational materials and funding towards achieving greater social impact in the education sector in Nigeria.
Today’s launch is the culmination of a passionate idea long held by me to contribute my time and funds towards enhancing access to qualitative education for orphans and vulnerable children in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions across the country” he said
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, ONO Foundation, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo, echoed the sentiments of Mr. Onyema emphasizing that “The Foundation is borne out of an understanding that the society of our dreams cannot materialize if its future (the children and the youth) are not properly trained, inspired and equipped to be the catalyst and springboard of change and growth.
The first tranche of beneficiaries of the Foundation’s scholarship is expected to be announced before the end of the year.
