TheCable

The Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) opened shop in Nigeria in 1998. But what is intriguing about the NTIC is its resolve to make impact in the Nigerian society through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Consequently, in 2013, armed with the desire to give back to the society that has been receptive to its activities, it incorporated the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges Foundation (NTICF) to carry out social intervention programs in Nigeria.

The NTICF has lived up to the occasion in four critical areas of health, education, water and food relief, and in some instances, even surpassed its core mandate areas. This didn’t happen by accident; rather, it has been a product of careful thoughts tailored to put smiles on the faces of needy people in the society.

Available records indicate that the NTICF is involved in projects that feed the poor under its food relief initiative, especially in the Holy month of Ramadan. In a 2016 report published by one of the national newspapers in Nigeria on feeding the poor during Ramadan, it identified the NTICF as one of the organizations that have consistently provided meals for the needy at the National Mosque and other mosques in the federal capital territory and other states in Nigeria.

“The month of Ramadan is usually referred to as the Sultan of the month because that’s when we commence our fasting according to Islam. And we at NTICF felt it would be ideal to extend the milk of human kindness to people that cannot feed during this month,” says Mr. Behlül Fatih Başaran, the director of NTICF. “We have been doing this for six years running and God helping us, we shall continue for a very long time.”

Of course, the NTIC Foundation is not new to charitable activities. It has overtime carried out series of CSR initiatives. For example, in 2014, the foundation distributed 500 lockers, bunk beds, desks and stationery packs consisting mathematical sets, textbooks, sharpeners, pencils, erasers, crayons and drawing books in public schools in some states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“For us at the NTIC, we are concerned about the community we operate in hence the determination to provide basic services to people and communities in dire need of these services.” says Mr. Hassan Abdullahi, an official of the foundation.

“We also carry out collaborations with Nizamiye hospital which is one of our sister organisations,” Mr. Basaran explains. “This year, we collaborated with Nizamiye hospital to conduct a medical outreach programme in Yobe state where about 1700 patients were treated at the General Sani Abacha Specialist hospital in Damaturu,” and “those with complicated cases were referred to the Nizamiye hospital for treatment free of charge. This included a six-month-old baby with cataract in both eyes,” He further added that the foundation has successfully carried out free 263 cataract surgeries since inception.

The director of the NTICF further explained that Nizamiye hospital and Nile University are also actively involved in this charitable enterprise of providing for the poor and for them, it is a collaborative effort.

“Nizamiye hospital also distributes relief packages to the communities’ surrounding the hospital, likewise the university too. An aid package is usually branded and bagged to contain 2kg of rice, 2kg of beans, 1 litre of oil, 2kg of corn, 2kg of millet and 1 kg of salt. We have been able to distribute between 4500 to 5000 relief packages in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara and Maiduguri Yobe and Abuja this year alone”.

In addition to the distribution of aid packages, the foundation distributes iftar meals for the needy during the month of Ramadan. “We distribute iftar meals simultaneously in four states in Nigeria and the FCT. In Abuja, we designated five mosques including the National Mosque as centres,” Mr. Basaran said.

He was also quick to add that the intervention of the NTICF is not for the Muslim faithful alone, but for everybody in need irrespective of religious, ethnic or tribal affiliations. “We do not take language, colour, religion, or race as reference in carrying out our activities.”

The NTIC Foundation also has its imprints in the educational sector in Nigeria. This year, it distributed 10,000 stationary packages to needy students in public schools. A package contains 6 Notebooks, 1 Drawing Book’ 12 Pencils, 12 Coloured Pencils, 1 Mathematical Set, 1 Eraser, 1 Sharpener and a school bag. “In total, we have distributed 38,500 stationary packages across schools in Abuja and other states in Nigeria,” the director of the NTICF also stated.

Some local communities in the FCT and its environs would heave a sigh of relief at the sight of a vehicle with the NTICF logo because it has come to be synonymous with good tidings. The foundation has constructed hundreds of boreholes in rural communities in the FCT and its environs. According to Mr. Hassan, “the yearly target for the construction of boreholes in rural communities is 50. The NTICF has constructed 226 boreholes in nine states since 2014. We have a target to reach the 10000 mark in the future God helping us.”

The NTICF through its activities has proven how corporate social responsibility initiatives can impact societies. The NTICF is not just an example; it is one worth emulating by other foundations in Nigeria.

Ocheja writes from Abuja