21 Days of Y’ello Care Opening Ceremony 2016

Welcome Address by Amina Oyagbola, Human Resources and Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria at the 21 Days of Y’ello Care Opening Ceremony, Golden Plaza Courtyard On Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 9:00am

A very warm welcome to our distinguished guests, friends of the MTN family and colleagues.

I thank you all for your presence today at this very special occasion.

MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care is indeed special to us at MTN and unique on several levels.

I stand to be corrected, but I am yet to hear of any organization that sets aside and dedicates 21 days in a month to allow its staff reach out to communities around the country with the hope and intention of changing lives for the better.

21 Days of Y’ello Care is our way of saying thank you to our communities for making it possible for us to do business. It also speaks to the premium we place on building enduring relationships with our stakeholders and communities.

This year, we are celebrating 10 years of Y’ello Care! 10 whole years! I am truly proud to say that every year since 2007 when we launched Y’ello Care, we have consistently focused on crying needs in our society and worked with our partners to make a real difference.

This year, we are once again focusing on education. With the theme for this year as Investing In Education for All, we will be investing significant resources in time, money and manpower to help create an enabling environment for learning as well as promote the use of digital tools and technology in our schools.

At this point, I would like to thank the Lagos State government for granting us permission to set up an ICT Lab/Resource Centre to empower the teachers and pupils in Lagos State Primary Schools. The centre will serve as a training centre for teachers, a resource centre to prepare instructional materials and an ICT hub for primary school pupils to interact and learn.

In addition, we plan to conduct Teacher training in two regions (Lagos/South West and Eastern Regions) as part of our Train the Teacher initiative. These training sessions are designed to empower teachers from primary to junior secondary level by introducing them to ICT learning. Beyond the training programme, we have also put in place a continuity plan to ensure that these teachers share knowledge with their colleagues for greater impact.

Other specific projects in line with this year’s campaign include:

• Supply of Educational and Digital Learning Materials to libraries in some Primary and Secondary Schools (Basic 1 to JSS3) across all regions to enhance digital literacy in the foundational classes. This supply of learning materials will also go to schools for the physically challenged, internally displaced children and remand homes across Nigeria.
• We will also carry out beautification exercises in these schools by painting and cleaning their school environment.
• Furthermore, as part of efforts to inspire the future generation, we are inviting some secondary school students on guided tours to the Information Systems Division of MTN here in our corporate HQs. This will avail them the opportunity to experience ICT in a modern work environment and participate in one-on-one mentorship talks by staff.

Ultimately, our goal, through these projects and interventions, is to contribute to learning and also to empower both students and teachers in schools across Nigeria.

I now call on every single MTNer, not only to sign up and participate but also to share your Y’ello Care experience on Social Media!

Yes, please inspire others – tweet, post and upload material about your respective divisions’ Yello Care activities and also share your personal stories, videos and pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Don’t forget to use the hashtag – #Yellocare!

In conclusion, I would like to seize this opportunity to thank all stakeholders who have partnered with us on this year’s project: the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Honourable Commissioners of the various Ministries of Education across the country and their respective Directors and Permanent Secretaries; the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board; our good friends in the Media, and all the schools who have opened their doors to us for the various Y’ello Care activities. At MTN, we consider it a privilege to be a partner-in-progress with our stakeholders – government at all levels; regulatory bodies & agencies, civic society, the media and the general public and once thank you for supporting our efforts.

Thank you for caring in the Y’ello Way!

Let’s make it a meaningful & fun-filled 21 Days of Yello Care!