New NGO – A Group With A Cause (AGWAC) – unveils logo |11 April 2022

Guest at the ceremony

Participants in a competition to design a logo for the new non-governmental organisation AGWAC (A Group With A Cause) were rewarded in a ceremony on Saturday.

Present at the ceremony were the principal secretary (PS) for Local Government, Kevin Perine; the MNA for Ile Perseverance Desheila Bastienne; the chief executive of the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (Ceps), Alvin Laurence; representatives of Lions Club International and members of AGWAC.

AGWAC was unofficially founded in November 2021 by Maria Thomas, who is the chairperson, and her husband Christopher Thomas, the vice-chair. The NGO was formally registered in March 2022 and the aim of the association is to help children in need. The motto of the association is ‘By helping others to help ourselves’.

The association comprises five executive members – Mrs and Mr Thomas as chairperson and vice-chair respectively, Marcia Camille (executive secretary), Bahirih Valentin (executive treasurer) and Jean-Paul D’Offay (executive member). The association has some 40 members.

The association initially targeted children from Ile Perseverance, a district with a multitude of social ills, claimed AGWAC. Once AGWAC was established officially, other people from other districts approached the NGO to seek help and the association took the opportunity to lend them a helping hand.

The NGO has so far assisted families with basic food items, clothing, baby items and assisted pupils with school accessories in collaboration with various partners such as the Lions Club International who sponsored the logo awards.

AGWAC also provides various activities for pupils in Perseverance between the ages of seven to seventeen.

The logo competition attracted 17 participants out of whom the top three winners were chosen. The first prize winner is Kian-Lee Kimani, second place went to Ezra and Eira Pierre followed by Calvin Gamatis in third place.

Kimani said he used the Seychelles flag as inspiration which could be seen in the colours of the AGWAC word logo. The logo also has a small boy with its arms as the W and a smiley face on top.

Executive member Jean-Paul D’Offay said the logo represents what they had aimed for with the child in the middle, a key component for the NGO.

Marla Simeon

Photos by Joena Meme