Access Bank Plc has celebrated the Nigerian child at the ongoing 2016 UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament with a special Children Day event.
The Children Day event, which featured over 200 school pupils from selected schools around Kaduna city and its environs, saw the children spend a whole day at the foremost Kangimi Resort, venue of the charity polo tournament. This event has become a special part of the Charity Polo tournament which started nine years ago with Access Bank as main sponsor.
The Emir of Hadeja, HRH Dr. Adamu Abubakar Maje, performed the traditional opening ceremony formalities while Special Guest of Honour, the former Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, lauded the Access Bank commitment to the UNICEF campaign for children rights and the Children Day initiative that further deepened the initiative.
Both singled out the unequalled involvement of Access Bank in promoting charitable efforts, polo and sports generally in the country, as strategic platform to alleviate poverty in the society and redirect youths away from societal vices as worthy of emulation.
Executive Director, Personal Banking Access Bank Plc, Victor Etuokwo, had disclosed that the special day which saw the children having fun and tried their hands in various sporting events and sketching, as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility, and one of the ways of giving back to the society.
“Apart from being a major stakeholder in the promotion of polo for years now, we also decided to partner with UNICEF and the organisers in this Children Day event as part of the Nigerian child development initiatives,” he added.
The 2016 Access Bank-UNICEF Charity Shield Polo tournament galloped-off on a blistering note Wednesday at the Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Club, Kaduna with four championship games in the UNICEF Cup series.
Titan defeated their arch rivals Susplan in 51/2 – 4 in a closely fought opener, while the debutant Polo Africa from South Africa edged Newline Farms 61/2-5 in their opening match.
Kano BUA and Niyya Farms also galloped off their campaigns on positive notes beating their opponents with close margins.BUA over paced Valda 4-2 1/2, while Niyya Farm edged Aerovote 61/2-5 to keep their UNICEF Cup hopes alive.
Proceeds from gate taking, sales of memorabilia and donations at this annual tournament in addition to a cash donation from Access Bank and individuals goes to UNICEF in its campaigns to uplift the vulnerable children and victims of insurgency in the North East.