As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Fidelity Bank has donated the sum of N850,000 to a  member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Miss Omonike Akinse-lure, under its ‘Helping Hands’ scheme.

   The money was for her to undergo a reconstructive surgery on her jaw. Speaking at the presentation event in Lagos, the General Manager, Operations, of the bank, Mr Sam Obijiaku, said the move was in line with the bank’s CSR of lending support to the needy. According to Obijiaku,                    

“Fidelity bank strives to impact on the lives of its customers and other people around it, by putting smiles on their faces.”Group Head, Marketing Communi-cations, Emma Esinnah, explained that Fidelity’s ‘Helping Hand’ pro-gramme was conceived to make workers of the bank give back to the community as well as to help the less-privileged in the society.

Giving an insight into the donation, he said:  “The bank decided to reach out to Miss Akinselure when she sought the help of the bank. Since she had the accident in 2009, it has been difficult to eat as she needs N850, 000 for her reconstructive surgery in order to be able to feed normally again. This, the bank’s staff have been able to assist her with.

”Meanwhile, the 5th edition of the Annual Fidelity Bank International Creative Writing Workshop has commenced.The workshop is a major component of the bank’s CSR, through which young Nigerians are groomed to preserve the nation’s famous literary tradition and actualise their personal dreams of becoming renowned writers.

Through the workshop, Fidelity Bank has not only revolutionalized the reading and writing culture in Nigeria but also raised a new generation of story tellers. Of note is Tolu Ogunlesi, the winner of the 2010 CNN African Journalist of the Year award and the Dorothy Rosengberg Poetry Prize for 2008. This year’s edition will be anchored by Helon Habila, a professor of Creative Writing, George Mason University, Virginia. Helon is also the first  Nigerian winner of the Caine Prize and the winner of the of the Commonwealth Prize as well as the first Chinua Achebe Fellow at the Bard College on the Hudson River, New York. This year, 30 participants were selected from over 500 entries that were received by the instructors