Integrated Dairies Ltd (IDL), producers of Farm Fresh milk, on Sunday donated 12,500 books to pupils in five primary schools in Vom District of Jos South Local Government, Plateau State.

Its Managing Director, Mr Sheyin Shekarri, who handed over the books to Da Balak Gyang, the Gwom Wrey Vwang and District Head of Vom, said that the gesture was part of IDL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the host community.

He said that the gesture was aimed at encouraging pupils in the five benefiting schools located in Sot, K-Vom, Turu, Dandyes and Dabwang to take their academic pursuits more seriously.

“It is part of a more robust programme to impact the communities around. It is specially designed to impact the lives of the children of our host communities and place them on the right pedestal for the future,’’ he said.

The managing director thanked the District Head for the massive support over the years, especially his “invaluable counsel’’ that had ensured a smooth relationship between the company and the host community.

He said that the outfit chose to launch its CSR to its host community from the education angle because of its belief that quality education was “a critical foundation for a successful future in the life of an individual’’.

“We, at IDL, are happy to partner with parents, teachers and all stakeholders to ensure that children in Vwang community continue to have unfettered access to quality materials that aid their learning process so as to prepare them for the future.

“Our plan is to start with children at the primary institutions and support them as they progress to higher institutions of learning.

“It is our desire that this support will go a long way to improve the standard of living and eventually transform the Vwang community.

“Even more importantly, for us, is the desire to lighten the burden of parents striving arduously to provide a better future for their children and their wards,’’ he added.

In his response, the District Head thanked IDL for the kind gesture which he described as “wonderful’’.

He promised that the books would be evenly shared among the five schools, saying that the measure was a “huge encouragement to the pupils and a great relief to their parents’’.

Gyang called for more areas of cooperation with IDL, “especially in the areas of education and employment”, and promised to support the firm in “every possible area”.

He also thanked IDL for employing more youths in the area, and particularly commended the outfit for elevating Vom natives to management positions.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Shekarri said that the donation was the first part of the outfit’s CSR, adding that more projects would soon follow.

According to him, IDL also has a “Widows’ Programme’’ where it assists widows with assorted food items, especially during festivities.

Other programmes included a scholarship scheme for some students from primary school to university level, he added.

Shekarri said that IDL would soon introduce a “small farm holders programme’’ where a model farm would be set up to teach interested farmers how to manage a cattle farm, with IDL supplying the feeds and buying the milk produced by the cattle.

“The scheme will involve local cows which will be cross-inseminated with exotic breed so as to shore up their yields and get 10 to 15 litres of milk per day, instead of the average of one litre from the local breeds.

“The resolve to buy the milk from the farmers is to support them to maximise their profit and also ensure a ready market for their milk.

“From what we have designed, farmers interested in this scheme will make good profit. And, of course, the more cows one has, the higher the profit.

“If we can have many farmers participating in the scheme, the area’s economy will surely witness a vast improvement,’’ he said