Under the auspices and the presence of the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mr. Marwan Hmadeh, PepsiCo, the global food and beverage company, launched in cooperation with the Ajialouna NGO, a charity organization dedicated to supporting education, health, and social work, "Tomooh Saad Abdul Latif" for university scholarships in its thirteenth year. The program that aims at empowering the Arab youth to pursue their education, was launched during a dinner at Four Seasons Hotel in the presence of a number of PepsiCo and Ajialouna NGO officials, the Chairman of SMLC, Mr. Walid Assaf, in addition to the press, teaching bodies of schools and universities and civil society organizations.
Mr. Elie Bou Akel, Franchise Management Director at "PepsiCo" said"We are gathered here today to launch theSaad Abdel Latif's program-Tomooh- in its 13th years of empowering Lebanese youth to continue their university studies". PepsiCo recognizes the importance of education and believes in the necessity of raising youth's potential and providing them with the possibility of building a bright future in which hope can grow and where business and ideas can prosper. He added "This initiative, with the cooperation of Ajialouna, is one of the most significant social programs of PepsiCo that has started to support the less fortuned students 13 years ago and it is still ongoing. It gave the Lebanese youth a bit of hope amidst the difficult social circumstances, hence, it provides them with an enticement to pursue their ambitions".
In his speech, the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mr. Marwan Hmadehpraised PepsiCo and Ajialouna's efforts in supporting the Lebanese students, highlighting the company's serious commitment for thirteen years, and the example it sets in corporate social responsibility.
Dr. Lina Al Dada, President of Ajalouna, said: " Tomooh's history in Lebanon proves the strong collaboration between PepsiCo and Ajialouna, as well as it confirms PepsiCo's ongoing commitment to the country. We seek to encourage Lebanese youth to march forward and to make sure that nothing stands in their way to track their ambitions, and PepsiCo's program "Tomooh" specifically tackles this cause. Also, the transparency of the initiative stemming from mutual goals between both parties empowered Tomooh-SaadAbdel Latif to offer educational opportunities to Lebanese youth that are unable to resume their education for financial reasons on an equal and non-discriminatory basis"
PepsiCo is committed to« Performance with Purpose" through which the company maintains support to local societies and invests inthem. Tomooh- Saad Abdel Latifis one of PepsiCo's many social responsibility projects that supportsthe society through education in Lebanon, relying on the principle of equal opportunities to all the eligible students in order to enable the youthwho are facing economic challenges to continue their journey towards knowledge and to make their dreams come true despite the obstacles, thus enabling themto become productive members of the society.
It is worth mentioning that with the closure of the twelfth year of Tomooh's Program, the program secured 2818 university scholarships to outstanding students from different Lebanese regions suffering from financial difficulties.
