of giving by donating funds for the treatment of children in emergency
wards of three government-owned hospitals across the country.
The initiative called Purple Nectar which started last year was designed
to touch the lives of people in the communities where the bank
operates. It involves each interested staff donating a day’s Salary for
Love as a way of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day.
“Every 14th of February, the world celebrates St. Valentine’s Day.
Usually, couples go out on this day as a way of showing love to each
other. But at Wema Bank, we decided
that while it is fine for couples to show love to
each other on this day, our focus as a bank should be on showing love to
those who need it but are not getting it,” said Segun Oloketuyi,
Managing Director/CEO, Wema Bank Plc., while presenting a cheque to one
of the beneficiaries of the 2017 Purple Nectar Initiative at the
Children Emergency Ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital
(LUTH).
“Some are in critical situations and they need all the help they can
get. In our own little way of showing love, the staff of Wema Bank
decided to put their salaries for that particular day (February 14)
together and looked for people who need our love. The demonstration of
this love is to support those who need help, especially in
health-related issues,” Oloketuyi said.
Children present at the LUTH Emergency Ward when Wema Bank visited were being treated for several ailments.
The mother of a 7-month old baby who benefitted from the initiative, Mrs
Ngene broke down in tears as the Wema Bank Managing Director presented a
cheque to her. She thanked the staff of Wema Bank for the kind gesture
and managed to smile before Mr Oloketuyi left her son’s bed side.
Another patient at LUTH who benefitted from the Purple Nectar Initiative
is a 10-year-old girl who is undergoing chemotherapy. Within the 12
hours before the Wema Bank staff visited, she had taken more than 9
pints of blood.
Her mother, Mrs Soetan, who said her daughter had been at the hospital
for 3 months expressed appreciation for the bank’s donation and prayed
that God blesses the Wema Bank staff who donated to her ailing daughter.
Wema Bank’s Purple Nectar began in 2016 as part of the bank’s Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused at helping the
less-privileged in the society.
One of last year’s beneficiaries, a physically challenged hairdresser
bought herself a wheelchair and set up a beauty shop after getting the
Purple Nectar funding. She is doing well and has started production of
her beauty care line.
The beneficiaries of this year’s Purple Nectar include patients at the
Children’s emergency ward at LUTH, Braithwaite Memorial Specialist
Hospital, Old GRA Port Harcourt and Wuse General Hospital, Abuja.