While most
companies concentrate their corporate social responsibility programs on the healthy
and able-bodied people, Chevron Nigeria Limited, a multinational oil company operating
in Nigeria has gone a step further to consider the challenge of visually-impaired students from the Niger
Delta region in various tertiary institutions around the country.
The programme
which is targeted at blind students started in 2007 via the NNPC/Chevron Joint
Venture and has proven to be a great source of hope for blind students who
had hitherto lost hope of pursuing tertiary
education due to financial handicap.
Investigation
reveals that over 200 students in various tertiary institutions receive N150,000.00
annually from the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture under this scholarship scheme.
Recently,
some of the blind students under the aegis of the Niger Delta Blind Students’
Association recounted the story of how the scholarship scheme has changed their
lives and helped them to continue their education as well as meet the requirements of higher education in
Nigeria.
One of the
recipients, Emmanuel Sylvanus, an HND final year student of Delta State Polytechnic,
Ogwashi-Uku who is a child of a blind woman and brother to four
blind persons bare his thoughts this way, “as a child of a blind woman and a
brother to four blind persons in my family, you can understand that the means
of survival for daily bread is even difficult not to talk of affording higher
education.”
He also
noted that, “Chevron has made it possible for some blind students who would
have dropped out of school because of lack of money to remain in the school
system.”
Emmanuel,
who also observed that, through the scholarship, Chevron has taken away some
burden off the government, mentioned that it has enabled him to perform excellently in his school
graduating in 2010 as the second-best student in the Ordinary National Diploma
level before proceeding to the Higher National Diploma programme.
Fresh Angle gathered that the story is the
same with Gabriel Godwin, an Urhobo from Delta
State and a final
year student of Mass Communications at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. According
to him, Chevron’s scholarship has gone a long way to alleviate his financial
plight in the school. In his words, “I find it easy to pay my school fees, buy
the necessary textbooks, tape recorder and some other materials needed in the
school for the smooth running of my academic activities.” He added, “Chevron is the
only oil company in Nigeria and even in Africa that has given this exceptional
scholarship to the visually impaired, particularly the Niger Delta students –
there is no aptitude test, nothing whatsoever….”
Felix
Lodio and Idowu Philip are also beneficiaries of the NNPC/Chevron Blind
students’ scholarship. While Felix is a final year student of
English/Literature in Delta State University of Technology (Affiliated to
College of Education Warri, Nigeria), Idowu is an indigene of Ondo State and a
final year student of Mass Communication
at the University of Nigeria Nsukka.
According
to them, apart from alleviating their financial burden, the scholarship has
helped them to compete favourably with their sighted colleagues.
The
families of the scholarship beneficiaries have also commented on the positive
impact of the scholarship award to their children. One of them, Mr. Edison Edhere, father to one of the
beneficiaries, Omoefe Edhere, said, “I
had stroke for over 10 years now. If not for this scholarship from Chevron,
there would have been no hope for me and my family. ”
The
President of Niger Delta Blind Students’ Association, Tariye Ben Omietimi, an
indigene of Bayelsa State said the vision of gathering the blind students under
an umbrella came out of his compassion for the teaming visually-impaired
students who had no exposure as to where to get help. He commended the
NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture for extending its corporate social responsibility to
the blind students.
The NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture has shown that apart from delivering on
its core objective of oil and gas production, the company continues to add
value to the society.