The First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has handed over a hostel it renovated and equipped with modern facilities to the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB) at its Vocational Training Centre (VTC) located at Oshodi, Lagos state.
The bank said the move was part of its commitment to continually empower and impact lives in all segments of the society,
In addition, an automated water system constructed by the bank was also donated to the training centre.
The gesture was part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, which focus on poverty alleviation, economic empowerment and environmental sustainability.
“It is aimed at effectively supporting the efforts of the FNSB towards enhancing the standard of teaching, as well as learning of the visually impaired students of the VTC. This is coming on the heels of FCMB’s donation of 15 Braille machines to the Society two and half years ago. The Braille machines (comparable to a typewriter) are designed to aid the visually impaired in reading and writing, with a view to ensuring they have unfettered access to sound education,” it explained in a statement.
Speaking at the commissioning and hand-over ceremony of the hostel and water system to the institute recently, the Group Head, Corporate Affairs of FCMB, Mr. Diran Olojo, said that the bank recognises the importance of every segment of the society.
He added that: “As a corporate organisation, we believe that it is necessary to constantly extend the hand of fellowship, support and love to the physically challenged and other less privileged groups through CSR programmes of this nature. We will continue to champion and execute initiatives that will help and empower a wide spectrum of people, communities and other stakeholders to ensure the emergence of a sustainably progressive society.
“We will continue to do our best to help remove barriers, give new hope, provide resources and expand possibilities as well as opportunities, so that people with vision impairment and other challenges can achieve their full potential. Ultimately, our aim is to contribute to the further development of Nigeria. We therefore urge the students not to see physical challenge as an impediment to the attainment of their respective ambitions.”
In his response, the Vice Chairman of Council, FNSB, Engineer Gbola Sobande, expressed gratitude to FCMB for its outstanding support over the years to the Society and by extension students of the school.
According to him: “FCMB has been a very strong pillar of support to the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind and Vocational Training Centre. The latest projects undertaken by the Bank further confirm that it truly cares for this institution, the students and society. On our part, we will continue to ensure that the Centre produces more graduates that would be useful to themselves and the country.
“In addition, to contribute our quota in ensuring the sustainable operation of the centre, we are planning to establish business ventures to generate internal revenue. We already have a farm and our students also produce well-made handicrafts which we have been selling for a few years. We will build on these layers to ensure the continued existence of the centre.’’
