Barry Callebaut, a leading cocoa processing company in Nigeria, has distributed instructional materials to over 330 children of cocoa farmers in Ondo and Cross River States under a community-based child labour protection initiative in cocoa farming communities.
The gesture, according to Mujeeb Oniyide, sustainability operations manager of the company, was part of their plan to enhance educational standards, and reduce the burden on pupils and students of cocoa farmers amid economic reality in the country.
Oniyide, who spoke during the flag-off ceremony of the school kits held at St. Williams R.C.M Primary School, St. James Caring Heart Mega Primary School and Mount Carmel R.C.M Primary School, all in Akure, the Ondo state capital, said “this is a community-centric approach that is essential to create empowered communities, supporting cocoa farmers and making lasting change for the future of the children through the human right due diligence pillar of our forever chocolate strategy.
According to him, “the back to school (kits) initiative provides quality educational items like school bags, lunch box bags, notebooks, writing materials like pen, pencil, eraser, sharper, ruler, mathematical sets, water bottles and sporting items to schools for over 330 children in 11 communities (5 communities in Ondo State and 6 communities in Cross-Rivers).