Former Chelsea FC and Ivorian international footballer, Didier Drogba, has inaugurated a school built in his region. It is specifically in the village of Onahio Pokou-Kouamekro.
Under the auspices of the Didier Drogba Foundation and with support from Nestle and the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), some 350 children can now have access to education in the rural cocoa growing community.
The Didier Drogba Foundation, Nestlé and ICI share the common objective of helping children live healthier lives and helping develop thriving resilient communities. Like any public school, the Didier Drogba school will be handled to the government to run, Nestle said.
The facility will replace an existing school in Pokou-Kouamekro which was made of mud and lacked the necessary infrastructure. It comprises of 6 classrooms, a kindergarten class, a school canteen, school latrines, a football field and 3 teachers’ homes to attract qualified teachers.
Present at the ceremony were members of the foundation, Nestle and the ICI as well as community leaders to who the former African player of the year handed a symbolic key to the facility.
- In his comments, Drogba stated that “We have been working on this project for the last two years and I am very proud to see it completed. The belief of my foundation has always been if we give children access to health and education, we will build future generations of doctors, scientists, businessmen and women and that is how we build a better Africa.
- “When I started working with Nestlé. I explained our vision and they have given us great logistical help and support on the ground to make the construction of this school a reality.”
According to reports, Mr. Stanislas Guedj, Country Manager for Nestle Cote d’Ivoire said: “We are pleased to collaborate with the Didier Drogba Foundation on this 2-year project because access to quality education is fundamental to securing a better future for children. “The Didier Drogba Foundation promotes education, sustainability and sports, as a means to help children have a brighter future Nestlé is tackling child labour by building educational infrastructure.”
“The Didier Drogba Foundation has done great work. It is an important asset to building resilient and thriving cocoa growing communities as well as eradicating child labour. Every child’s place is in school.”
For his part, Euphrasie Aka, Regional Representative for West and Central Africa for ICI, stressed its commitment to helping cocoa-farming communities through social protection initiatives to tackle child labour more effectively.
“With Nestlé, ICI is strongly committed to addressing child labor because we believe that every child deserves the chance to create its own future”.
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