By Zika Bobby
Mastercard Foundation in partnership with Beyond the Classroom has engaged 6,000 children in Nigeria on COVID-19 safety protocols.
The community engagement is part of the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 public awareness campaign aimed at delivering accurate, timely, and life-saving information on the pandemic across African countries and communities.
The initiative in Nigeria was rolled out in 11 public and private schools in Lagos and Nassarawa states.
Each child received a free COVID-19 safety pack, containing the educational book, ”There is a new virus in town,” written by Raquel Daniel, founder of Beyond the Classroom, and produced in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
Raquel explained how the students were educated on the need to wash their hands regularly with soap or use alcohol-based hand sanitisers.
“They were also advised to always wear nose masks in the correct way while in public and to maintain a social distance of at least a meter. The students were encouraged to motivate their parents and guardians to get the COVID-19 vaccine.”
According to Nigeria Country Head at Mastercard Foundation, Chidinma Lawanson, the community engagement was the second phase of the Mastercard Foundation’s COVID-19 public awareness campaign aimed at educating children aged 7 to 14 years old on COVID-19 preventive measures.
She said 3,000 children were initially engaged in the first phase of the project last year with a key message to “Protect yourself, Protect your family, and Protect your community #ItsUpToUs.
The principal, Dr. Soyemi of Memorial Primary School expressed appreciation to Beyond the Classroom and Mastercard Foundation for the kind gesture towards the school.
“This book will continue to create awareness of COVID-19 and ensure that we carry out the necessary protocols. We will also incorporate this book into our co-curriculum activities.”