Fidelity Bank Plc, has handed over a well-equipped, state-of-the-art Kitchen/Catering Laboratory for the use of students at the Girls Correctional Home, Idi-Araba, Lagos.

According to the bank, the project was part of its demonstration of unwavering support towards enhancing the lives and wellbeing of less privileged members of the society.

Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo said this at the commissioning ceremony in Lagos, saying the decision to embark on the project was borne out of a deep-seated realisation that vocational education remains vital to the development of any society.

Okonkwo thanked the Ministry of Youth and Social Development for giving them the opportunity to partner with the State and hoped to do more in the future.

He spoke through the bank’s Head of Legal Division, Kingsley Ohiri, saying the bank had, in the past, carried out some CSR projects in the State such as the Correctional Centre for Boys, Birrel Avenue, Yaba where vocational training tools were provided for the use of wards at the centre.

While commissioning the project, the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Olusegun Dawodu said the kitchen would provide the children the means to learn a new vocation which they would use to benefit themselves and the society at large.

Dawodu also reiterated the resolve of government to prioritise the needs of the teeming youth saying, government would continue to support and empower the children and youth in the State with relevant skills in order to play active roles in the Nigerian economy, thereby creating wealth and reducing the rate of unemployment and criminal activities among the youths and children”.

He specifically thanked Fidelity Bank for supporting the Government and especially the youths in the State by initiating and extending their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to ensure that the society is impacted positively.

On her own part, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Yewande Falugba, emphasised the need for well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to emulate Fidelity Bank by partnering with the State Government in ensuring the social well-being of the youths and children.