Coke Cares Save Lives And Children
CokeCares Volunteer Program Outreach
Whitefield Foundation, a non governmental organization committed to poverty eradication has been deeply involved in mobilization and distribution of food relief to those whose life has been impacted negatively by the COVID 19 pandemic.
Her training and resource center at 25, McEwen Street, off Herbert Macaualay Street, Sabo, Yaba now serves temporarily as a food relief packaging and distribution center. With focus on families, women, widows and the elderly, the foundation hopes to reach at least 10,000 families with food relief before the end of July, 2020.
Across the world, Coca-Cola employees marked the beverage giant’s 134th anniversary in humble fashion, with most activities focused on community good and on corporate reflection on how to make a difference in a world that has been bedeviled by the COVID 19 pandemic.
Lagos, the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, has been hard hit economically, with the megacity recording over 1,800 out of the 4300 cases in the Country. The four weeks lockdown inadvertently crippled economic activity hitting the urban poor acutely with many families unable to fend for themselves. Rising crimes of opportunity were recorded with an uptick in domestic violence, all evidence to a city pressed to the wall.
In a bid to uplift hearts and put smiles on the faces of residents in the Sabo Community of Yaba, Lagos, associates, under the auspices of the Associate Volunteer Program- CokeCARES, in partnership with the Whitefield Foundation, launched a Food Support Program, committed to sharing the special anniversary moment with 134 vulnerable families living in a small urban community in Lagos.
In a pleasant twist and with the matching grant support of West Africa BU Leadership Team, the group surpassed their target and ended up with more food than anticipated.
At the end of the day, a total of 161 families had received food supply for a week while about 100 more beneficiaries, living within the community, received smaller food packs to last them a couple of days. 10 old women who could not get to the venue had food supplies taken to their houses to support them.
Each weekly food supply pack contained 10kg of Garri (local carbohydrate meal), 7.5Kg of rice, 5Kg of Beans, 1 carton of noodles (40 packs), 1 crate of 30 eggs, a pack of milk, a pack of Eva water, a bottle of hand sanitizer and a small basket of fruits.
Whitefield Foundation, with over 10 years’ experience in social programs and community sustainability initiatives, managed the logistics of the CokeCARES Volunteer Food program. The NGO only recently concluded a TCCF Funded women empowerment program that trained about 600 women.
Speaking about the experience, Mrs. Funmi Johnson, CEO of Whitefield Foundation expressed her joy with the event as it contributed towards helping the foundation achieve her goal of feeding 10,000 families by July 2020.
“providing food relief to people especially the elderly, widows, and families will go a long way to help more people stay home and stay safe. Proving food relief at this period is a responsibility we must all rise up to fulfill, not just the governing authorities. We appreciate the CocaCola staff for this novel support to mark the company’s anniversary. It is indeed remarkable and we hope more corporate bodies will follow in their footstep.’
One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Kayode, a 71yr old retiree with young children, was full of praise for the food relief received. ” It has been a very difficult time for my family. I have even applied to the government and several outlets for assistance and food support during this period without any success. This pack will not only feed my family for a week but will last us for up to three weeks. Thank you to Whitefield foundation and CocaCola staff, now I feel a sense of relief”
Another beneficiary, Kafayat, a petty trader and mother of two children, said, ‘This is the biggest food relief pack I have ever received. It is very much more than I expected’
Whitefield foundation ‘feed a family’ project provides foodstuffs that can feed a family of five for an average of 10days. The food pack is made up of the main staple foods in Nigeria proportioned in a healthy and balanced way along with fruits for wholesome living.
