LBS SMP 56 focuses CSR activities on women and children in Lagos communities

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LBS SMP 56 focuses CSR activities on women and children in Lagos communities

In December 2019, members of the Senior Management Programme (SMP 56) class visited the Oke Eri community of Oworo, Lagos state where they delivered a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project as part of their responsibilities as alumni of Lagos Business School (LBS).

Through that outreach, the class provided health, education and housing interventions while also providing employment empowerment to underserved members of the community. The health intervention included hepatitis, diabetes and high blood pressure screening for 100 members of the community alongside cervical screening for its women. The CSR outreach also comprised a year-long education grant to three out-of-school children and a grinding machine plus accommodation to a widow. 

While the LBS Alumni Association aims to render service to the society and alumni members are constantly encouraged to give back in whatever measure they can, the SMP 56 class has made it a yearly agenda to impact vulnerable groups – women and children in rural communities across Lagos. In December 2017 and 2018, the class visited the Makoko Children Home and the Ade Oshodi Nursery School, Lagos Island respectively. At the latter, it donated classroom furniture, books and other learning materials to the students and teachers.

According to SMP 56 Class President, Kehinde Olomojobi, the choice of Oke Eri community for the 2019 outreach was borne out of “a desire to have a wider reach and focus on women who are the custodians of life, knowledge and culture which invariably is transferred to the children who are the hope of the nation.”

“We felt that if we could impact the women in the area of their health and economic power, we would be adding more value. Oke Eri is a location that most people would not necessarily want to go to because of the inaccessibility of the area and the slum-like nature of the terrain. However, they are the ones that needed the “Christmas touch”, she added.

On the impact made, Olomojobi said, “The women who underwent breast and cervical cancer screening amounted to 50 in number. There were no recorded cases of breast cancer abnormalities. However, three women presented cases of cervical abnormalities, while one woman is suspected of having cervical cancer. Although the impact of the outreach is minimal at present, it has had far-reaching effects in terms of the importance of education, the awareness of the risks of breast and cervical cancer and the easy means of monthly checks for breast abnormalities which the women were previously unaware of. The awareness of the need for the women to stay healthy is also part of the impact of the outreach on the community”.

The SMP 56 class is monitoring the project by partnering with a non-governmental organisation who will carry out follow-up duties in the community. As part of its 2020 plans, the class promises to revisit Oke Eri and other communities with a health insurance plan for vulnerable individuals.

Lagos Business School is an oasis of sanity that imparts values and knowledge in students who in turn, impact their immediate society and humanity by being solution providers. 

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