Botswana Insurance Company Limited (BIC) signed off partnership agreements with five (5) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partners for the year 2017. Out of the five (5) partnerships signed, two(2) were renewals of existing partnerships with The Botswana Society and The Happy Boys Football Club and three new partners came on board, namely The Broadcasters Organisation, Autism Botswana and Pula Sports Development Association. The partnerships are in line with the CSR strategy targeted at the environment,health,sports, youth and culture & heritage.
BIC has been in partnership with The Botswana Society (TBS) since 2014 in support of the Society’s long-standing Cultural Heritage and tourism project and the organisation intends to continue assisting the Society in reaching its mandate.
The organisation will also avail its staff to apply their skills and expertise where needed to benefit the society. The agreement between the two parties also entails funds amounting to P 85,000 aimed at achieving sustainability for TBS. TBS Honorary Secretary Fred Morton said that the three(3) year support from BIC has made all the difference, “The society has expanded, drawn the youth and the community at large through its outreach programs.”
Youth empowerment and sports development is another integral part of the BIC’s CSR strategy and The Happy Boys Football Club have benefitted from this. BIC and The Happy Boys have enjoyed a 1 year partnership following 2 years of continued support which was on a need basis. The aim of the continued partnership is to assist the Football Club reach its goal of empowering the youth and enhancing talent in Botswana.
In 2016 BIC organised an entrepreneurial seminar for the team to equip them with skills that will enable them to generate ideas, identify potential business opportunities and unleash their own potential through self awareness and this year the organisation will pay tuition fees for two(2) selected team members who have shown keen interest in pursuing training in refrigeration and aircon repairs as part of the partnership.
The team Captain Percy Gaofiwe said that the partnership has since improved the team standard. “We now have a broadened vision and we aspire to play in the third division league under Botswana Football Association, Percy highlighted.”
BIC went on to sign another partnership agreement with Autism Botswana to support the organisation’s mission of being an advocate for the sustainable support of people living with Autism and promoting Autism awareness. In 2016, BIC donated P 50 000 towards a pilot project which was carried out in Ranaka in efforts to capacitate the community to help families with Autistic kids and develop an early intervention tool which can be integrated into pre existing structures for early identification of children with Autism. According to the Autism Botswana Chairman Monde Kote, the financial support from BIC helped a great deal and there has been positive feedback from the community.
A group of youth with a passion to introduce and promote digital learning from grassroots level have partnered with BIC to take ICT services to the community. The Broadcasters Organisation (TBO) aspires to improve the use of ICT resources in different schools in Botswana. A lot more training needs to be placed and emphasised in schools more especially at primary level therefore TBO have developed a MATSHWAO software which will be installed in selected regions to assist teachers generate computerised academic results reports.
“Through BIC support in 2016 we managed to assist primary school teachers, non-teaching staff and students at 12 primary schools in the South East District improve their computer skills and this year we intend to host a teaching symposium where teachers will discuss PSLE results, share ideas and best practices to improve students’ results,” said Elias, Chairman of The Broadcasters Organisation.
The last but not least partnership agreement was signed with Pula Sports Development Association (PSDA) which aims to nurture positive, impactful and sustainable change in target communities. Pula Sports Development Association’s mission is to improve health and wellness, mentorship and skills development as well as contribute to community development and social inclusion. The funds donated towards the Association will go towards the Café at the Bontleng Futsal Park to make it functional for leasing out as an income generating initiative.
“We want to use sports as a pull factor to address social challenges, mentor the youth and impart life skills,” said Swift Mpoloka the PSDA Chairman.
BIC Managing Director, Johann Claasen said it is interesting to learn of the positive impact of their efforts towards building a better nation, “we are very grateful to know that every effort we put in, the funds we donate go a long way in helping someone out, giving them a sense of hope for a better life and it gives us comfort to know that the money we donate are used for a good cause and there is accountability for it”.