When heroic children win big prizes at Indomie brand CSR award

Although Nigerian children are performing heroic feats, there are gaps in rewarding them. Dufil Prima Foods noticed such gaps in 2008 and decided to set up an award, Indomie Independence Day Awards (IIDA), for heroic children.

The award is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative organised annually by the maker of Indomie instant noodle to identify, recognise and celebrate children below the age of 15 for their intellectual, social and physical bravery. Established 10 years ago, the award, which is worth multi-million naira scholarships for the winners, has benefited over 39 children.

This year, the award event was held at Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, with a roll call of attendees that included industrialists, bankers, school administrators, musical artistes, students, the winners and their parents.

In  her speech,  the guest speaker at the occasion and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rise Networks, Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji commended Dufil Prima Foods for sustaining the award for these past 10 years, adding that what the company is doing through IIDA is capable of empowering the  Nigerian child. “I want to thank Dufil Prima Foods for the remarkable work she is doing in Nigeria. IIDA is the biggest and most inspiring programme for children in Nigeria. It is commendable for an organisation like Dufil Prima Foods to have stayed consistent to doing social responsibility programme the way she has been doing it, by making sustainable substantial contribution to the growth and development of Nigerian children, without necessarily getting something in return,” Akerele-Ogunsiji said.

The guest speaker said it was commendable to see Nigerian children breaking barriers to contribute meaningfully to the development of Nigeria. Akerele-Ogunsiji said: “I sat down with my fellow judges few weeks ago to watch videos of the entries for IIDA. It moved me to tears to see ordinary children from hinterlands of Nigeria performing heroic acts. Many of those children come from what one can describe as low income families; they do not have the privilege of acquiring proper education. However, those children have brazed all odds, and they are doing magic in their remote communities. My greatest lesson from that is it is important that leaders build values and values build society.”

During the roll call of winners, 15-year-old Victor Olayiwola was announced as the winner of the physical bravery category. The story of the young Olayiwola is both interesting and pathetic. Olawiwola was only nine when he saved the life of his mother from a car accident.

The incident happened on December 12, 2012 when his family was returning from a church service. The family was crossing a popular road at Fagba, Lagos, when a car, on a high speed, voraciously aimed for the life of Olayiwola’s mother. But Olayiwola was behind the family to notice the oncoming vehicle. Without thinking twice, he dived and pushed away his mother and other family members. However, his legs were crushed by the car. He was rushed to eight hospitals, but was rejected by all the hospitals. The ninth hospital that accepted to treat him could only save his life, but not his legs. His left leg was so badly affected by the accident that it had to be amputated. Today, Olayiwola bears the brunt of the accident, for he walks around with prosthetics. But Dufil Prima Foods is changing the story of the teenager for the better, through IIDA.

Making the announcement, IIDA panel of judges described Olayiwola as a brave child, whose bravery should not go unrewarded. The judges praised his self-sacrificing love for his mother, nothing that his leadership potentials were worth emulating.

The panel of judges that independently examined, critic and nominated the winning stories included Managing Director of Rave TV and Trend FM, Agatha Amata; Managing Partner of CC-Hub, Adetunji Eleso and Akerele-Ogunsiji. Others included the Managing Partner of Sanni and Co.,  Abiola Sanni; social critic,  Adekunle Adeniyi and Television Continental (TVC) Director of Programmes,  Morayo Afolabi-Brown.

Afolabi-Brown, who spoke on behalf of the judges appreciated Dufil Prima Foods for providing such a wonder platform like IIDA for children to be appreciated. “It is easy to do things for a group of people who can pay back. But it is worthy to note that Dufil Prima Foods decided to give this award to a group of people who cannot pay back: children. I think that this award has actually set a pace of what CSR should all be about. To have done this award for a decade now shows that Dufil Prima Foods actually has the interest of children at heart,” Afolabi-Brown said.

Speaking on the rationale behind the award, Chief Executive Officer of Multipro Consumer Products Limited,  Pawan Sharma, stated that the IIDA programme represents the firm’s commitment towards children. “As a brand, we at Indomie feel we need to celebrate our unsung heroes-Nigerian children, who are doing extraordinary works, without being celebrated. This year, we received hundreds of entries and when we went through those entries, we were amazed to see the kind of work Nigerian children were doing. Sometimes, we felt like crying for them because those children, as young as they were, sacrificed their lives with bravery acts. They did something brave that even 40-year-old people would think twice before they do them. We salute those children.”

Thanking Stanbic IBTC Bank and TVC Communications for partnering with Dufil Prima Foods towards the success of IIDA, Sharma urged other stakeholders to join the firm in ensuring that Nigerian children are empowered. “We thank our partners such as Stanbic IBTC Bank and TVC Communications for supporting this noble cause. And we will welcome anyone who wants to join this noble cause,” Sharma said.

The search for this year’s IIDA heroes began in January this year when the firm began to make preparations towards the award. The leading food firm later engaged two independent research agencies-Marks Analytics & Research Services Ltd and BanahGrace Research Agency¬ to thoroughly search out outstanding young heroes for recognition and celebration. The field search exercise, which lasted for over eight weeks, took place majorly in 12 states: Lagos, Ondo, Rivers, Edo, Akwa-Ibom, Imo, Abia, Kano, Kaduna, Abuja, Jos and Benue states. At the end of the search, about 400 spectacular stories in different categories were harnessed for the award.

Speaking at the award event, Dufil Prima Foods Group Public Relations and Events Manager,  Temitope Ashiwaju said IIDA is all about selflessness. “Every day, while countless Nigerian children choose paths that make them rise above unfavourable conditions, several others exhibit acts that have saved the lives and property of others” Ashiwaju said.

The social bravery category was won by nine-year–old David Nengi Ayomide Pepple, who uses recycling strategy and artistic talent to raise money for the treatment of his younger brother who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Pepple, who lives with his parents and brother in Port Harcourt, possesses innate ability to work with discarded materials and convert them to various artistic items. Recently, he came up with the idea to display his art works in an exhibition, which has variously been supported by the Rivers State Chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists, art professors and 10 other artists.

Master Elijah Ephraim Umanah, a 13-year-old senior secondary (SS1) student of Centenary Staff College in Uyo won the Intellectual Bravery category for creating reading glasses, using torchlight, solar panel and universal serial bus (USB) ports.