Rotary partners bank to empower 132 beneficiaries

Rotary International District 9111, in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria Limited, is set to empower 132 beneficiaries with start-up kits across various trades tomorrow, February 11, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. at Rotary Centre, Ladoke Akintola Street, Ikeja-GRA, Lagos State.

The District Governor Nominee of the club and Project Coordinator, Bukola Bakare, said that “the vocational skills beneficiaries of the start-up kits would get free grinding machines, plumbing kits, deep freezers, sewing machines, generators, gas burners and cylinders, among others.

Bakare, who stated that the community intervention project had beneficiaries from the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria drawn from Lagos and Ogun states, added that First Bank of Nigeria Limited is the major sponsor for the project. She further said: “The 132 beneficiaries were chosen based on needs analysis from Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba residents in Lagos and Ogun states.

“First Bank is our major supporter for this programme and we have a 10-year community empowerment plan, which is supported by the bank in Corporate Social Responsibility programme.”

Also, the District Governor, Dr Wole Kukoyi, who spoke on the significance of economic empowerment in Rotary’s initiatives, urged the government’s collaboration to reach the vulnerable groups in various communities as a means of poverty reduction in ways that are effective and efficient.

“Rotary’s Empowerment Initiative complements the government’s efforts and stresses the need for recognition and partnership to enhance community development.

“We know that government alone cannot eradicate poverty completely and also achieve meaningful youth empowerment, hence our resolve to carry out these programmes to complement the government’s efforts.

“So, we expect the government to recognise the Rotary for what it does, and then partner with us accordingly, following the type of cooperation we have with First Bank of Nigeria Limited,” he said.