The Dangote Foundation last weekend commenced distribution of relief materials to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states, in the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.
The initiative according to the Managing Director of Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoofou, aligns with the Dangote Foundation key objective of positively impacting the communities we operate and is aimed at ameliorating the pains and suffering of at least 5,000 families affected by insecurity and violence in the North East.
She said: “We have identified and are concerned about these communities of displaced people who find their limited resources quickly depleted and are unable to cater for their basic needs, hence the need for the intervention.”
She also said, “A special victims’ fund has been set up, which we have made a pledge to. Today, we are here in the context of Ramadan, just to let the internally displaced ones in Yola know that we remember them, and we are with them through these difficult times. Our intervention initiative will continue to focus on working together with the Government, other humanitarian stakeholders and donors to deliver basic assistance and support to displaced people and IDP populations.”
The Dangote Foundation through the phased project made the first intervention stop at the Yola IDP camp and is distributing products like Dangote spaghetti, rice, DanQ seasoning, salt, sugar and blankets. Representatives of the Dangote Foundation were physically present at the distribution exercise in partnership with a volunteer NGO, Like Minds, to facilitate the distribution process.
The coordinator of the non-governmental organisation, Like Minds, Fatima Kiyari, praised the Foundation and prayed specially for the Chairman of the foundation Aliko Dangote. “God will bless Aliko Dangote. The number of lives he has been able to touch today is unbelievable, not to talk of other camps we are distributing materials to in Yobe and Maiduguri, which are 10 times bigger than the camps here,” she said.
One of the recipients of the relief materials, Malam Ari Gwaza, also lauded the Foundation’s philanthropic gesture and appealed to other prominent Nigerians to emulate the good deeds of Dangote and use their wealth for the poor.
Dangote Foundation recently provided succour to the victims of Nepal’s disastrous earthquake by donating $1 million to the government and people of that country. The amount was in line with its mandate to provide relief in times of disaster, with a message that the Chairman of the Foundation Aliko Dangote, and the people of Nigeria shared in that country’s moment of grief.
The Dangote Foundation has been touching lives both within and outside the shores of Nigeria since its establishment in 1993, providing opportunities for social and economic transformation through investments and interventions that improve and promote health, education and broaden economic empowerment opportunities.
Mr Aliko Dangote endowed the Foundation with $1.35 billion in March 2014 to ensure that the Foundation had secure and steady funding to carry out its mission and significantly scales up its work both within and outside the shores of the country.