Danone Waters UK and Kenyan Orphan Project
An incentive scheme with community impact
Imagine rewarding employees for hitting stretch sales targets by donating company money and staff time to the community…
Well that’s exactly what Danone Waters did when it decided to add a community element to the company’s collective performance targets. On meeting these targets, staff were rewarded with not just a team celebration, but with the knowledge that they were contributing to a project that would benefit a community in Africa. Three Hands put forward a range of projects to Danone Waters that could benefit from this investment.
Danone Waters staff chose to support Kenyan Orphan Project, a UK-based NGO that works with local partners in Kenya on projects that fight poverty, disease and social exclusion. The company’s investment has enabled the charity to rebuild the classrooms at a secondary school in Kisumu, western Kenya, transforming them from tin shacks into safe permanent structures. This will provide children with a more positive learning environment, while also contributing to the local economy through the use of local labour and materials.
The project came to life for staff in the UK when Three Hands arranged for five members of the Danone Waters team to visit the project site. The five not only taught lessons in the mud classrooms and helped on the construction site, but also visited other community projects in Kisumu, helping them to gain an understanding of the significant challenges faced by the community and how the rebuilt school will help to tackle those challenges. The results?
- An additional 300 students will be able to attend the school once the work is completed
- The children and teachers at the school have made a personal connection with the organisation that has funded the project
- The Danone volunteers have returned to the UK feeling truly engaged with the cause, and determined to motivate their colleagues, friends and family to do more
- Danone Waters achieved its aim of giving something back to society and building its reputation as a great place to work.
‘Danone Waters supported KOP with the build of four new classrooms at a secondary school in Kisumu, Kenya. Education is not free there, in fact, for people living on less that $1 per day, the proportional cost of an education is extortionate and often impossible. The school subsidises the costs and therefore allows bright children from slum areas to get a formal education and give them hope for their future. Thanks to the unique generosity of Danone Waters, that hope will be extended to many more and the children will now have their lessons in an environment conducive to learning.
The scrupulous planning and attention to detail of Three Hands facilitated an excellent visit from five members of staff who got stuck in with plenty of activities and shared their skills with the school. Their interest, respect and dignity maintained throughout the visit enabled the children to fully comprehend that people really do care about what happens to their future and inspired altruistic thinking for their own community. A truly wonderful and educational experience for all involved.’
Martina Gant, Student Coordinator, Kenyan Orphan Project