Heirs Energies Ltd, Africa’s leading indigenous integrated company, and the World Literacy Foundation have announced the launching of the Sun Books initiative in Rivers State, Nigeria, to mark this year’s World Literacy Day.
In a press statement made available by Heirs Energies Ltd, Head of External Relations Chidimma Ugbojiaku, the company said the initiative is part of an intentional effort to eradicate illiteracy in Nigeria, where, according to UNESCO statistics, one in every three children cannot read nor write at the expected level by age 10, with rural areas and girls mostly affected.
The initiative is expected to directly benefit more than 500 pupils at Central State Primary School, Omuohia Igwuruta, and Umebulu Primary School, both located within Heirs Energies host communities.
The beneficiaries will receive solar-powered Sun Books tablets preloaded with culturally relevant curriculum-aligned literacy content and interactive learning modules, while solar panels will be installed in the schools to ensure uninterrupted power for the devices and classrooms to create sustainable access to education in resource-limited environments.
The CEO of HEIRS ENERGIES, Osa Igiehon, described the partnership with the
OSA IGIEHON.
World Literacy Foundation, to launch the Sun Books initiative as “an investment in the next generation of leaders, innovators and problem solvers to reflect our Africapitalism philosophy”. The CEO of the World Literacy Foundation, Andrew Kay, in his words noted that “The partnership with Heirs Energies is a demonstration of the power of cross-sector collaboration which will afford the benefitting children the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed regardless of geographical location or circumstance.”
From the community perspective, the chairman of the board of trustees of the OML17 Host Communities Development Trust, Dr Samuel Amechi, is of the view that “the initiative shows what is possible when companies listen to their host communities and act in partnership.”
World Literacy Day, also known as International Literacy Day, is celebrated every 8th of September annually since it was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1966 to raise awareness about the importance of literacy as a fundamental human right and to promote the literacy agenda globally.
By Tunde Olaore.
