Oando Foundation Launches Ebola Education Support Fund

The Oando Foundation has announced the launch of its Ebola Education Support Fund. The fund will support the education of Nigerian children who have lost one or both of their parents to the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and require financial support to continue their education. Ebola is a contagious and highly infectious hemorrhagic fever sweeping through West Africa; in Nigeria there have been five reported fatalities in Lagos and Rivers States. The Ebola Education Support Fund was instituted to ease the financial strain that may be experienced by many families due to the loss of a parent or both parents. This could have a huge impact on the ability of children to continue schooling thereby invariably affecting the future of our country. The UNESCO Education for All Report 2013/14 statistics reveals that there are 10.5 million out- of-school Nigerian children. The Foundation has a mandate to ensure that the devastation caused by the EVD does not increase the number of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria. According to Tokunboh Durosaro, Director, Oando Foundation, “We appreciate that the loss of a parent or both parents to EVD can be very daunting and seriously affect the future of a child. The importance of education cannot be underscored and this is why Oando Foundation has launched the Ebola Education Support Fund to mitigate the effect of this tragedy. The fund will ensure that all affected children complete their education to university level, notwithstanding their loss.” The Ebola Education Support Fund will provide grants to cover school fees and other education costs of all affected children from now until university graduation. In addition to the Education Support Fund, Oando Foundation is also supporting the Ebola Containment Trust Fund to prevent further spread of the disease by donating over 5,000 protective suits, gloves, protective glasses and boot covers. These items will be distributed to health workers and medical institutions in Lagos and Rivers states.