By Precious Chimezie —-

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, one of the most valuable bank brand in Nigeria as part of its commitment towards youth empowerment has partnered with the Zuriel Oduwole DUSUSU (Dream up, Speak up, Stand up) Foundation to implement a mentoring session where Zuriel inspired over 200 students to stay in school and actualize their greatest potential at every given opportunity.

Zuriel Oduwole is a 15 year old Girl Education Advocate and World’s Youngest Film Maker who has met several world leaders and was described as the world’s most powerful girl by former United States Secretary of State, John Kerry. The mentoring session featured the screening of Zuriel’s latest movie, ‘follow the ball for education’, followed by an engaging session directed providing mentorship for the youths and students at the event. Through her Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up [DUSUSU] initiative, she speaks to ‘in school’ and ‘out of school’ youths (especially Girls) about the importance of a good Education and staying in school. She has spoken to more than 24,800 youths in 11 countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, the US, Ethiopia, Namibia, the UK, and Diepslot – South Africa.

FirstBank’s support for the Zuriel Oduwole DUSUSU initiative comes under the auspices of the FirstBank FutureFirst Programme designed to empower students of secondary schools with requisite knowledge of financial literacy and career counseling. The FutureFirst Financial Literacy Programme is an ongoing Corporate Responsibility initiative of FirstBank which aligns with the Bank’s Sustainable Finance objective, a key focus area of the Bank’s Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Strategy.