A contact centre in Sunderland has helped to build a new school in Zambia.
An employee from Fusion Sunderland, part of the BGL Group, has just returned from a visit to Zambia, where she met the community for whom the insurance company has exclusively funded a brand new school.
The major charity initiative involves BGL working with charity partner, Build It International, to build the new school. The Group smashed its original fundraising target of £160,000 to raise over £230,000 in just eight months.
The Zambian project forms a key part of the BGL Group’s five-year Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, with an overall target to raise £3 million to help ‘reduce poverty and create prosperity’ at home and overseas.
The new Kabaka Community School replaces makeshift facilities, providing a school building with three classrooms, bathrooms and a clean water supply, helping to change the lives of hundreds of families living in the rural village.
The new school replaced makeshift facilities – shown here.
Emily Downes, 28, who works at Fusion Sunderland Contact Centre, was one of a group of 21 BGL fundraisers who arrived into the village to be welcomed by over 200 people singing, dancing and drumming.
During their week-long stay, the group helped to decorate the school, planted an orchard and vegetable garden and led classes and games with the children. An official opening ceremony unveiled the new facilities to the community.
“Going to Zambia and meeting the young people that will benefit from the school was a life-changing experience,” said Emily Downes. “We all worked so hard to raise the money – from holding glamorous balls and pub race nights, to running cake and car boot sales… Our Executive Board even rowed the River Thames! In the UK, we take our education facilities for granted, so to see how happy the Kabaka children are with their new school is something I will never forget. It made all of our hard work worthwhile.”
“The new school in Zambia is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when charities and businesses unite to make a difference,” said Andrew Jowett, Chief Executive of Build It International. “The BGL Group has given this initiative one hundred and ten per cent, and hugely exceeded our expectations. The school will literally change the lives of hundreds of Kabaka families today, and long into the future, which is a fantastic legacy.”
Author: Megan Jones
Published On: 16th Jul 2014 - Last modified: 12th Dec 2018
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