With days to the New Year, a Nigerian non-profit, Lyceum Foundation, has stepped up efforts to cushion hunger in Ogun State, launching a large-scale food outreach targeted at vulnerable families in Abeokuta.
The initiative, which held at St. Simeon’s Anglican Primary School, Olopa in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area, featured a children’s funfair including quizzes and spelling competitions, before hundreds of food packs were distributed to indigent pupils and residents.
The foundation extended the outreach to Laderin community, where elderly residents and struggling households received bags of rice, over 100 cartons of noodles, ready-made clothes, and other relief materials.
Founder of the foundation, Dr. Yinka Ola-Williams, said the intervention was driven by a determination to ensure that no Nigerian goes hungry during the festive season, despite the biting economic hardship.
“We have many multifaceted problems in Nigeria, but hunger should not be one of them,” he said. “In a country like ours, nobody should go to bed without a meal. Sadly, millions of women and children still do.”
Ola-Williams lamented the rising food prices that continue to worsen hunger nationwide, urging Nigerians to embrace compassion and adopt a culture of giving.
“If I can feed two people, and you can feed five, and companies feed ten, then this season no one will go hungry. It may not be a permanent solution, but it is better than doing nothing,” he added.
According to him, the foundation’s food bank was made possible through donations from parents, staff, and the leadership of Lyceum Montessori School and Lyceum College, which is marking its seventh anniversary of community empowerment.
“We have over 100 cartons of noodles, several bags of rice, and enough resources to support many families. Everyone contributed — parents, teachers, the school — because kindness is a value we must teach our children.”
He stressed the need to raise a new generation of Nigerians rooted in compassion, saying the absence of empathy among leaders is one of the country’s biggest challenges.
“Our leaders lack compassion. They don’t think about the citizens. To build a new Nigeria, we must start from the classroom — teaching children kindness, generosity, and care for others.”
Ola-Williams added that national security and social stability depend on how well society treats its poorest, warning that neglected children often become vulnerable to exploitation.
“For us to have a threat-free society in the future, every child must be cared for. No child should be left hungry or exposed to those who may want to use them.”
He called on individuals, religious groups, and corporate bodies to join the fight against hunger, describing the foundation’s effort as “a call to national responsibility.”
The Lyceum Foundation food outreach will continue through the festive season as part of its broader campaign to address hunger, poverty, and social neglect in local communities.
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