1. Charity Dinner
Set in the week of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (ABMO), a golf tournament organized by the Bank, AfrAsia Bank Charity Dinner. In 2019, MUR 1,323,530.50 was raised through this dinner.
2. Sponsor an AfrAsia Kid
This programme was launched during ABMO 2018, to offer staff and clients the opportunity to make a priceless investment by positively changing the life of AfrAsia School’s beneficiaries. For the period of July 2019 to June 2020, MUR 360,831.95 was raised through the participation of 92 staff and 5 clients.
“I love being part of an organization that values the SDGs and implements projects that brings value to our society. AfrAsia Foundation acts as the social arm of the Bank since 2016 and our vision of shaping a world of difference is well translated though projects from our 3 main pillars; Education, Health and Environment. Our greatest achievement, for me, till date remains the AfrAsia school located in Curepipe that provides support and education to children from underprivileged community. Seeing the progress of the AfrAsia Kids is a great motivating factor for me as an employee and one of the sustainability champions for the Bank. This also inspires our clients to invest their time and money to this noble cause through participations in various activities organized by the Foundation and CSR donations”.
Isabelle Francois
Senior Relationship Manager
Sustainability Champion for Global Business Department
AfrAsia School
AfrAsia School is aligned with The National Curriculum and integrates holistic teaching approaches based on the Montessori methodology. 71% of teaching and non-teaching staff, who have been recruited are from vulnerable background and they have been trained by professionals. Since 2018, 62 children have been enrolled in their Early Childhood Educational Programme (ECEP) and 57 families for the Parent Empowerment Support Programme (PESP). As per figure 24, a 37% increase was recorded in the number of children enrolled at AfrAsia School from 2018 (30) to 2020 (41).
- Family living in Cité La Caverne Vacoas and Curepipe which have been defined as the catchment areas of the AS.
- Willingness of parents/responsible parties of children to engage fully in projects put forward by the AS.
- Screening and follow up by social workers from Ti Rayons Soleil for a minimum of three months before the enrolment of the children.
The families which are eligible to be enrolled in the list of specific social criteria has been established by Ti Rayons Soleil through several meetings with the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity. The Montessori Method and holistic approaches focusing on the wellbeing of each child’s mind, body and spirit are used to teach the national curriculum of the ECCEA, Early Childhood Care and Education Authority, which falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology.
After-school classes are aimed at helping AfrAsiakids who are now in public primary schools with their homework, while ensuring that they have well adapted to their new learning environment. Any difficulties faced by the kids are tackled by a close collaboration between the AfrAsia School teachers, their current teachers and parents/responsible parties. Moreover, to continue the pedagogy of AfrAsia School, special activities based on the Montessori method is also being taught. Follow-ups will continue until the children reach the secondary grades. AfrAsia Foundation is currently developing a programme to pursue the follow-ups until the children become financially independent. In 2019, 4 children benefited from this programme (conducted in Vacoas) and in 2020, 14 children are benefitting from same in Vacoas and Curepipe.
The Parent Empowerment Programme (PESP) is a set of tailor-made sessions monitored by social workers, psychologists and qualified trainers to better equip parents to understand their feelings and responsibilities towards their children. In this way, they will be able to provide adequate support to their children, resulting in better development physically, emotionally and educationally. Moreover, these sessions helped to identify the weaknesses and any other issues faced by parents. They were then empowered to tackle same and find solutions to get out of the vicious poverty circle. Moreover, along with core trainings, LLEC set up more specific workshops that impact directly on a community, for example young mothers and single parents’ family workshop. These initiatives impact positively on the relationship SCHOOL-CHILDREN-PARENT that is a priority for the centre.
Since 2018, through the PESP:
- One parent was employed by Ti Rayons Soleil to work as a cleaner and cook at AS.
- 3 mothers joined a “Women Entrepreneurship programme” in collaboration with Ti Rayons Soleil and Vatel Mauritius - Hotel & Tourism Business School to launch their own businesses;
- 89 parents received the support of the social workers to write their CVs and applied for jobs
- One family benefited from the financial support of AS to repay part of their debts. A moral agreement was established whereby the parents were asked to volunteer in any activities organised by AS throughout the scholar years of their kids.
The attendance rate in these sessions is closely monitored to identify whether any correction action is needed. The increase in participation in the PESP can be seen following the social follow-up that have been set up with the parents. The workshops proposed encourage good parenting practices, positively strengthen their role as a parent and provide them with adequate tools that help them in daily parenting. The LLEC proposes free babysitting services for children, food support during any workshops and transport services for workshops after working hours. These strategies help in the increase of the attendance rate.
The AfrAsia Golf Academy (AGA) exists since 2015. This project which falls under the AfrAsia Foundation has as objectives to help underprivileged children to understand and play Golf. Our CSR approach encompasses children education and this program is aimed at identifying talented young golfers and providing them professional coaching framework. Since its inception, over 50 children have completed the program and two have been selected to undergo a professional golf training, with the hope that they can be transformed into golf pros in the years to come. During the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open of 2019, the beneficiaries of the AGA enjoyed the privilege to experience a world standard golf competition and meet professionals on the golf course.
AfrAsia School was closed from 23 March 2020 to 03 April 2020 as a result of the decision of the Ministry of Education linked directly to the sanitary lockdown. Ti Rayons soleil set up a series of home-schooling measures through WhatsApp and Facebook messenger platforms to ensure that AfrAsia kids have a series of activities, combining their school routine and situation at home, to minimize the disruption to their daily life.
The teachers of AfrAsia School also developed an educational programme from 07 April 2020 to 01 May 2020 on Youtube. This programme was kept for the second semester as well. The staff were constantly in touch with the parents to guarantee that the children had no queries and the work were being done. Parents-teachers dialogue also revealed that parents actually became closer to their children during the lockdown.
We would like to also highlight the use of formative assessment, that provides feedback to teachers which will allow them to adjust their teaching methods to better meet the needs of the children and the latter understand better what is expected of them.
The psychologist hired for the school used the pandemic as an opportunity to train staff on emotional intelligence via ZOOM.
Nutritional Programme/Food Support Programme
Concerning the nutritional programme, a three-meal plan has been designed to address the malnutrition problem that the children are facing. The programme has been initiated to cater for the children’s nutritional needs on a daily basis, helping them to become healthier and attain the standard growth curve. Moreover, a nurse conducts screening of each AfrAsia kids to make adequate medical recommendations and a doctor will assist the medical process. (see the “Medical and Psychological Support for AfrAsia kids”).
Social workers from Ti Rayons Soleil identified some families (of our AfrAsia Kids) that were enrolled in our food support programme. These families receive food on a case to case basis during crisis (e.g. cyclone, COVID-19 pandemic).
100% of full-time staff are also benefiting from this programme since February 2020.