By Chuks Okoh
Arik Air, West Africa’s largest carrier has announced an initiative to help reduce the suffering, pain and sorrow of people with Sickle Cell disorder in Nigeria by joining forces with the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria to combat the condition.
The initiative is in the form of in-flight donation whereby Arik Air will support the Sickle Cell Foundation to raise monies by way of charity donations to be made by passengers on board Arik Air flights. Specially designed envelopes will be distributed on Arik Air’s planes to passengers to make voluntary donations.
The money so collected are to be turned in to the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria and utilised for the aims and objectives of the Foundation – particularly for the treatment, care and support of children with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria.
Arik Air’s Managing Director/Executive Vice President, Mr. Chris Ndulue commented on the initiative:
“Arik Air is a caring airline and this explains the partnership with the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria. This is in line with our Corporate Social Responsibility and our humble way of giving back to the Nigerian society”.
The Chairman of Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, Professor Olu Akinyanju said:
“Sickle Cell is essentially an African problem and Nigeria is the country with the highest number of people with the condition in the world; 150,000 Nigerian babies are born every year with the disorder, three quarters of whom die before their 5th birthday. We are motivated by our belief that this partnership with Arik Air would go a long way in improving the quality and duration of lives of persons affected by sickle cell disorder in Nigeria”.
