Laura Flora Adolescent Care Foundation (LFACF) has announced two annual awards for young girls in Benue State, namely, the LFACF Academic Excellence Scholarship Award and the LFACF Innovation Award.
LFACF, founded by the Zamber twins, Laura Erdoo and Flora Doowuese, is a charity dedicated to the underprivileged adolescent girl child.
Laura Erdoo Baaki, founder of the foundation and wife of Managing Editor, The New Times, Dr Kurannen Baaki told TNT that the awards are part of the broader initiative of LFACF to encourage underprivileged girls to pay attention to academics, excel, and encourage innovation.
The LFACF awards target students who exhibit exceptional potential and dedication in their studies as well as have innovative ideas but face challenges that hinder the attainment of their goals, Mrs. Baaki told TNT.
“By helping nurture young talents, we hope the scholarship helps to prepare and develop future leaders and role models who will positively impact their communities and professions of choice. The essence of the award is also to invest in the education of girls towards sustainable development,” Mrs. Baaki stated.
On the LFACF Innovation Award, she said: “The award seeks to recognise and celebrate creativity from young girls. The award is very competitive and encourages exceptional innovations or accomplishments in science and technology, business, and the arts.”
Designed to reward and recognise outstanding academic performance and innovation, the academic excellence award is open to the best overall graduating girl child in a public secondary school in Benue State while the innovation award is open to Benue born females under 18 years of age, who must not be in full-time education.
Themselves girls, the Zamber twins are passionate about the girl-child and have introduced the awards through their foundation to “support, empower them and give them any help” to achieve their goals.
The big announcement for the annual awards coincides with this year’s International Day of the African Child celebrated on June 16.
Sending a message to the African child ahead of their day, Mrs. Baaki said: “Aspire. Have aspirations, set up to work, and you will achieve your goals. There is nothing that you have set out to do that is unachievable. Aspire and achieve your goals.”
