Former 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 Drogga 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.
“ it is not beyond our power to create a World in which all children have access to a good education” @NelsonMandela
Proud of the opening of the first school from The Didier Drogba Foundation today in Côte d’Ivoirethe first one we built
“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.”
What Stanislas Guedj, Country Manager for Nestlé Côte 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.”
“Make me proud of you!” says @didierdrogba to the children in Pokou Kouamekro, #cotedivoire. His foundation helped build 6 classrooms, a kindergarten, a canteen, latrines and a football field together with ICI & @Nestle https://bit.ly/2ENzRND #endchildlabour
Euphrasie Aka, Representative for ICI:
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”.