It was fun all through on the Boxing Day in Calabar as the Dangote Group fete thousands of gaily dressed children who marched through the City in the grand finale of the Children carnival sponsored by the Group in the on-going one-month long Calabar festival. The Organization said it would continue to support any laudable programme meant to show case the abundant cultural potential of the nation especially those involving the children in a bid to develop the tourism sector The excited kids paraded the streets of Calabar marking the grand finale of the children's carnivalwhile singing and dancing, as the company gave away several of its products worth millions of Naira. The carnival train involved several groups of children of different ages who paraded the four-kilometer distance from the Botanical Garden located near the Mary Slessor roundabout through the IBB Highway and terminated at the Esuene Stadium. Different bands that participated in the final parade included Bayside band, Freedom band, Masta Blasta band, Seagull Band, Passion 4 and army children band.Preparatory to the carnival parade, thousands of children, attired in different creatively designed costumes had gathered in Calabar.Botanical garden for final rehearsal While at the Botanical Garden, which was fully branded by Dangote, the children were served thousands of packs of cooked Dangote noodles. Dangote Noodles had established a kitchen in the carnival village from where over 5,000 plates of noodles from its stable, were prepared and served to the children and their handlers.Also, Dansa Foods, also a subsidiary of Dangote Group, had manned various serving points along the dry run route where participating kids were served refreshing portions of various products from the company. The children, reinvigorated with the drinks, danced and marched with new strength to the terminal point at the Esuene stadium.Dansa Foods, a subsidiary of Dangote Group, was at hand in the stadium, serving thousands of chilled bottled Mowa water and its range of fruit juice products to the thirsty crowd.Visibly elated at the level of support from Dangote Group, the band leaders commended Dangote Group for the sponsorship of 2011 Children Carnival Calabar. Austin Cobhom, leader of Bayside band, described Dangote's sponsorship of 2011 Children Carnival Calabar as unprecedented. According to him, with the sponsorship, all the refreshment needed by the bands was supplied free by the group.For the Seagull Band led by Affiong Effiom, the sponsorship is a demonstration of Dangote Group's strong commitment to support the Nigerian child. According to him, the Group has given the Nigerian child an avenue to express his talents.Mrs. Elenda Osima-Dokubo, Executive Secretary Cross River State Carnival Commission, was full of praises for the level of support from Dangote Group. She said the commission was elated with the level of support and described the group as a worthy partner towards helping children discover their talents. According to her, the group, in providing all the refreshments for both the dry run and children carnival proper, had shown its interest in the welfare of the Nigerian child.The Dangote Group's Head of Corporate Communication, Anthony Chiejina, said the group's sponsorship of the Calabar Children Carnival was borne out of the need to promote the development of the Nigerian child as well as provide them with a means of expressing their creativity.He explained that the Dangote Group's commitment to the wellbeing of children informed the development of a whole range of products tailored to their welfare and its sponsorship of the Children Carnival part of strategies to ensure that the average Nigerian child was given the opportunity to explore his or her talent. Charles Uwa Omoregha, General Manager, Marketing-Tourism Bureau of Cross River State,commended all the sponsors of Calabar Carnival 2011, especially Dangote Group, for sponsoring the Children Carnival. He urged other corporate bodies to take a cue from Dangote Group in promoting the nation's abundant cultural, natural and human resources via sponsor.
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