Agro-Allied Resources and Processing (ARPN), a subsidiary of Tolaram Group, has recently disbursed bursaries to students from seven communities around its palm plantation in Edo State, thus marking itself as a company interested in the development of communities in the state.
Note that ARPN is relatively a new entrant into the oil palm industry in Nigeria, as the company has not begun the processing of its fruits, thus limiting the amount of funds available to the company.
Presenting the cheques to the awardees in an event in Benin City, the Administrative Officer of the company, Mr Anderson Oghonim, urged the recipients to use the funds judiciously by focusing on their studies and shunning vices.
He informed the awardees that one educated person in a good position can bring development to his or her community beyond what a company can do.
It should be noted that this bursary award is not the first activity towards communities under its Corporate Social Responsibility scheme. The company had earlier installed solar street lights in communities like Okokhuo, Odighi, Osasimwonba, Abumerene and others and also graded the internal roads of many communities around its plantation.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries of the bursary award, Michael Ighodaro of the Eko-Ekpetin community thanked the management of ARPN for living up to its promise of giving bursary to students from the communities. He assured the management that the community will support the company and create a conducive environment for the company to operate and that the bursary will be judiciously used by the students to justify its essence.
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