Over 100 indigent students and 79 elderly people in Ikere-Ekiti have received scholarship awards and cash support from the Pyramid Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that caters for the needy and less privileged in society.
The latest initiative, which also featured prize-giving to outstanding students, was the 23rd edition of the programme, held in Ikere-Ekiti.
The 23rd annual programme of the Pyramid Foundation saw about fifteen million naira in cheques presented as scholarship awards to outstanding undergraduates of Ikere origin, as well as students with the best results in the Junior School Certificate Examination, JSCE, Senior School Certificate Examination SSCE, and NECO.
Prizes were also awarded for hard work and academic excellence, including recognition of six best mathematics students at Annunciation School, Ikere.
About seventy-nine indigent elderly citizens also received cash support for their upkeep, while the programme also featured medical consultations, screening, and medication for participants.
In his remarks, the President and Founder of the Pyramid Foundation, Pastor Bolu Alabi, highlighted the three pillars of the foundation to include investing in the future through education, honouring the past through care for the elderly, and preserving the future through accessible healthcare.
He added that the annual event was aimed at improving the lives of people in society who face daily challenges in education, social welfare, and healthcare.
The Ikere-Ekiti-born, US-based estate developer, who described education as the most powerful tool for transformation, urged scholarship recipients not only to pursue academic excellence but also to become mentors, agents of change, leaders of integrity, and contributors to society.
A guest lecturer from the Department of Political Science at EKSU, Professor Leke Oke, charged the beneficiaries to remain focused, diligent, embrace opportunities, and avoid negative influences.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mr Olawumi Adeyemi, said the Pyramid Foundation had made a significant impact in the Ikere community, with thousands of scholarships awarded.
Goodwill messages came from the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Adejimi Adu, and the Chairman of the occasion, Elder Oluremi Bakare, who both lauded the President and Vice-President of the foundation, Pastor Bolu and Pastor Yetunde Alabi, for their generosity in giving back to society.
They called on the beneficiaries to remain focused and aspire to help others in future.
Beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the initiator for the gesture.
