LEADING telecommunications company in Nigeria, MTN, has ended its annual staff volunteerism programme, 21 Days of Y’ello Care, which focused on education.

The yearly programme initiated by the MTN Group in 2007 encourages MTN staff in all its 21 operations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to volunteer their resources, time and skills to assist others and the communities they live and work in.

In this year’s programme, the Nigerian operation engaged in a number of activities focusing on inculcating the reading culture in the Nigerian child. This initiative had adopted the theme, “Investing in Education for All,” which was in consonance with the global movement to make education accessible and compulsory for all and sundry across the world.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Michael Ikpoki said that the last 21 days were quite eventful and fostered conducive environment for learning in schools.

“Seventeen digital libraries were set up in primary and secondary schools across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. Training and empowerment seminars were conducted for 100 teachers of the Lagos State Ministry of Education and a book reading session was organized for students to imbibe the reading habit in them,”, Ikpoki added.

A major highlight of the closing ceremony was a keenly contested quiz competition among seven schools, which was eventually won by Gbaja Girls Secondary School and New Era Girls Secondary School, both located in Surulere, Lagos. Each school received Laptops loaded with MTN’s educational bundle.

Other activities included the visit to nine orphanages and motherless babies home in the six geopolitical zones of the country donating household and food items such as nutritional drinks, foodstuff and mosquito nets among other things. MTNers also provided the children with basic amenities to not only sustain them in the homes, but to keep them happy and catered for.

Other educational materials were donated while the senior management staff of the centres also encouraged and mentored the students on their desired career paths.

This year, specific activities included empowering teachers, book reading sessions for students and establishment of digital libraries in select secondary/primary schools across the country to promote a healthy, voluntary study habit among students.