Employee-led social initiatives at Advanzia

Supporting the children of El Ceibal in Bayunca, Colombia

One of the guiding principles of Advanzia's corporate social responsibility is our grassroots approach, with our employees choosing and directing projects both locally and worldwide. Our ESG committee of company-wide employees also help to propose initiatives and guide our support to where it is most needed.

One example is our support of the school children of El Ceibal in Bayunca, Colombia, an initiative championed by our employee Stefan, who works in the accounting department. We recently met with Stefan to discuss how his personal connection to El Ceibal spurred him to create and implement this initiative.

Stefan, why did you choose this project?

My wife Divanys Margarita​, who is Colombian, was involved in the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a charity founded by Shakira. She taught in three schools in Colombia through the foundation, helping mentally disabled children with their schoolwork.

One of the schools was El Ceibal in Bayunca, a government school for children between eight and 15 years old. Like many of these schools, it is oversubscribed and overcrowded. The students come from poor backgrounds like many Colombian families from this part of the country – they do not have the financial means to send their children to private schools and are therefore dependent on government-run schools, which are mostly underfunded. The facilities are seriously lacking, with not enough teachers, tables and chairs to go around.

Because this school is close to my wife's heart, and the Pies Descalzos Foundation could only support the school for up to four months, we wanted to lend a hand. I reached out to Advanzia's ESG committee, put forward a proposal and an overview of what the community needs, and they kindly offered to sponsor the purchase of school equipment and a little present for the children.

How did you approach this issue within the community?

My wife met with the school's staff to determine how Advanzia's donation should be best allocated. With the help of Dairo, Ismenia and Inirida we were able to identify the children that needed our help the most and they set up meetings with the families.

What did you do?

Our priority was to make the kids happy and support them in their education. So, we decided each child should receive a backpack with everything they needed to attend classes.

We purchased the necessary school supplies and bags locally in Colombia. Once assembled, we informed the teachers who then organised the delivery back in May. The backpacks were distributed in the school yard to 50 delighted students.

What's next?

The community still needs so much more support. It's more than just money; a lot of time and effort is needed to ensure the funds are spent in the right areas.

Because the school's equipment is so poor, we would like to use the rest of Advanzia's donation to buy school desks and chairs or establish a library, which would benefit the children in the long run.​​