Airtel spreads Christmas cheer to families in need |30 December 2021
Airtel Seychelles, a leading telecommunications company in Seychelles and across Africa, helped to extend some Christmas cheer to those most in need, by reaching out to the community on December 28.
In line with the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, five employees and a Santa, travelled across the island, randomly stopping in different sites to interact with families and community members, and share with them the gift of giving.
CSR coordinator Marie-Pierre Volcère explained that the company reaches out to the community at Christmas each year, but this year decided to take it one step further, and get all 72 employees on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue to get involved in the cause.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) we officially conducted our CSR activity as usual for Christmas, but for this year, we have added a personal touch. We got our staff to contribute towards the cause, and the company met staff halfway for an activity which is more impactful than the previous years. Staff donated mainly clothing items, shoes and homeware items which can be of use to someone else, but we were really surprised, as we really did not expect that staff would contribute that much. Some even went out of their way to buy some of the stuff to donate, so it was great,” Ms Volcère noted.
Setting off at 8am with a pick-up packed with goodies, the team stopped through Grand Anse, Anse à la Mouche, Anse Aux Pins, Anse Boileau and many other districts and sub-districts, where they interacted and donated to at least 39 households, among which included semi-orphans and orphans, a stroke patient, persons living with disabilities, and other vulnerable families. The families also benefitted from essential food commodities, sponsored by the company itself.
The team also afforded their support to two families who recently fell victim to house fires, providing them with the items that they need.
“The gesture was really appreciated by those in the communities and it was evident that there is a demand or need for such. We took the smallest back roads and that is where we are confronted with the reality. There is definitely demand for us to continue this in future. They were really emotional and their gratitude touched us,” Ms Volcère added.
Considering the success of the activity, Airtel intends to amp up its portfolio of CSR activities next year, with the objective of helping as many, and to give back to the community which contributes towards its successes.
The company also plans to help certain individuals and families with whom they have had the pleasure of interacting on Tuesday, in going forward.
“We will keep on improving as this was even better than previous years, and than the last year. This year we did not manage to do as much as we had anticipated due to the pandemic, but this year we plan to go further,” Ms Volcère added.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of Airtel’s activity on December 28.
Laura Pillay
