In her quest to further boost inclusiveness and cohesion amongst its teeming members, the ‘94/99 graduated set of the Association of Mass Communication Students (AMACOS) of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, (formerly Ogun State Polytechnic), Ojere, Abeokuta has concluded plans to launch a social safety initiative “Better Together”, aimed at empowering its members as well as providing the succour of multi-dimensional safety nets against the recurrent economic hardships presently been experienced across all tiers of human endeavours globally as part of activities marking her 2022 Annual Reunion themed “Owambe“, scheduled to hold on Saturday December 17, 2022 in Lagos. The project with a projected take-off sum of Three Million Naira; has already been flagged off with the sum of over N1 million.
Concerned by the welfare of its members and the urgent need to curtail the handout to the members in meeting up with challenges around health, housing, advanced educational and related welfare issues, the Executive Council of the group during its meeting held on the 28th of August, 2022 constituted a 4-man Committee to review multiple requests bordering of these challenges during which the committee proposed to institute a Seed Funding initiative to tackle this challenges headlong and sustainably.
According to Adebayo Adeoshun, the Vice President of the association who also double as the Chairman of the Seed Funding Initiative Committee: “In the past, our Annual Reunion have been characterized by external charitable activities including raising of various level of supports for select “At risk’’ communities as our own give-back. However, occasioned by the effects of the COVID-19, which brought with it devastating effects including loss of livelihoods across the world, a sizeable number of our members were also affected such that in the course of the year, the request for welfare support by our members became overwhelming.”
Adeoshun further explained; “Hence, this initiative, which became imperative as we realize that an injury to one, is an injury to all. That if we are to truly become our quest to be better together, we can only achieve that by becoming our brothers and sisters keepers. And one of the realistic steps in that direction is to acknowledge that, until the weaker links within our chain of relationship are offered the necessary levers of support, we cannot develop together at the expected pace. Given this laudable initiative by our committee to ensure that everyone is pulled along within the ecosystem, our committee remains eternally grateful to the President and other members of the Executive Committee for their buy-in. It has been such profound joy to realize that we are going to pull this through eventually with the formal launch of the initiative come Saturday.”
Corroborating Adeoshun, Olanrewaju Oyegbola, and President of the group said; “My philosophy to life across all my leadership sphere has always been strongly built around sharing bread. Positions of service in every aspect that we find ourselves must be viewed with a higher responsibility of putting smiles on the faces of agonising souls and the joys and rewards that come with doing this can never be quantified. It is such a rare priviledge that our administration is saddled with this noble opportunity and I will like to commend the Committee for their commitment to this clarion call.”
In her own reaction, Rasheedat Adetutu Ajayi-Yakub, Secretary to the Committee amidst enthusiasm opines that the launch of the initiative is strategic and intentional.
She said; “Characteristically, the Yuletide Season is one special season that holds powerful memories for everyone irrespective of faith, creed, religion, gender and status. It is a special season that everyone looks forward to with hope, and we as a committee believe that the launch of the Better Together initiative during this festive period will help in establishing the nexus between the essence of the season of giving even as we consciously demonstrate not only an offer of hope for our members who are the primary beneficiary of this funding initiative, it will also provide some comfort as well as impetus that they are within an ecosystem that offers them hope and inclusion.”
The initiative which is streamlined into two key modalities of refundable loans and non-refundable grants for Micro and Macro businesses funding for the members of the group will be administered by a trustee who will be saddled with the administration of the fund. A third tier of the fund will be invested in defined investment portfolios including mutual funds among other such wealth creation instruments.
The initiative will be launched during the association’s 2022 annual reunion with the theme “Owambe” which is poised to celebrate the bond of friendship and camaraderie which has spanned over two decades among the class. This will be incorporating a rich combination of the diversity and regal ancestry of the individual members of the association through cultural displays and glamour of their traditional accoutrements, meals, entertainments among others.
Speaking on the level of preparedness for the annual event, Mrs. Olubukola Ogundowo, the Social Secretary revealed that the event is billed to parade an elaborate display of couture and culture amidst other activities lined up for the day.
