ALL THAT HAPPENED AT THE RIBENA GOOD VALUES AWARD 2017

On Children's Day,, myself, Bobo, Tito and over three thousand (3,000) children were at The Haven event centre in GRA Ikeja to attend the maiden edition of the Ribena Good Values Awards, an initiative of Ribena, one of the leading nutritional fruit drinks from the stables of Suntory Beverage and Food Nigeria Ltd. My husband and I were overwhelmed at the number of children present at the event, if there were over 1200 kids, imagine how many parents, teacher, guardians were there! It was packed! Click HERE to see the video of the event.

Also in attendance was Mrs. Aderonke Solomon the representative of the First Lady of Lagos State and the Director, Private Education and Special Programmes, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ajoke Gbeleyi representing the Deputy Governor of Lagos State.

The Ribena Good Values Programme is a commendable intra-school program by Ribena with the sole purpose of imbibing good values and healthy living among kids in schools all over Nigeria.The Ribena “Good Values School” programme was executed in partnership with Bridges to Goodness (B2G) Projects, a social enterprise organization founded by a team of social architects to build and celebrate the goodness and greatness of the younger generation.

The keynote address was given by the Managing Director, Suntory Beverage and Food Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Chinedum Okereke . He explained that: “The future of any nation or entity lies heavily on the children, whatever legacy we pass on, whether good or bad could make or mar us as a nation. We therefore must rise up to our responsibility as parents, guardians, schools, and government to ensure that good values and characters are inculcated in these young ones from a tender age”.

I nodded in agreement to this statement, and sometimes even though we say the children are the "future", the future is already here. I was once a child and if I didn't have good values and character built by my parents, what would have become of me? It is not enough that kids are brilliant and smart, it must be combined with good values.

He further said, “In many instances, rewards and prizes are handed out for excellent performance in academics and sports, with little recognition for exhibiting good values and character. Ribena through this Good Values Awards identifies and spotlights deserving pupils and students who really make a difference and go beyond the compulsory or convenient to help others overcome obstacles, and live with integrity. This award is specially designed to honour and inspire these young kids whose lives and activities demonstrate an enduring commitment to quality values associated with exemplary character.

The Marketing Director, Mrs. Rosemary Akpo highlighted the negative peer pressure young ones experience combined with several negative influences from the society, friends, social media,  and more. Mrs Akpo noted that the initiative was to help mould right leaders for tomorrow. “We are working at ensuring the Ribena Good Values School programme spreads across the nation and that is why we are partnering with Bridges To Goodness Projects in this first of its kind, program. We are proud that we are supporting the efforts of the parents, guardians and the government to produce young people that will grow with the kind of values that will positively affect lives and also make them relevant in the scheme of national development” 

It was good to note that this project will not be a one-off project, Also the brand manager of Ribena, Mr Essien Ekemini expressed that : "The program will be intense and impactful so that young people can bring out the best in them".

There was a lot of entertainment and food that went around, I was surprised, but hey, it's Ribera! Plus, there was A LOT of Ribena to go around!

To see more of what happened at the Ribena Good Values Award, watch the video below!