Stanbic Bank Zambia’s Personal and Business Banking team has reached out to the Bauleni Special Needs Project with a donation of K60,000 of much-needed items for its school.
“We strongly believe in giving back to the people and communities that support us. And this is not just the bank giving back but the staff as well because they helped raise half the amount which the bank went ahead to match,” said Stanbic Head of Sales and Services Mwamba Musambo.
Among the donated material was a shower wheelchair and curtains. The wheelchair is a welcome development as it is a necessity for students with mobility challenges.
“For some the idea of taking one’s time in the shower is soothing but for a person with mobility issues who is unable to stand for long periods it can be excruciating. This wheelchair will do much to ensure the comfort as well as safety of the user in the shower,” said Ms Musambo.
Project Director Sister Lynn Walker pointed to the fact that there were no showers accessible to children in wheelchairs in the hostels and despite having tried to make a wet room as best they could, staff still had to work extra hard to cater to the children.
She expressed her delight and gratitude on the donation of the chair and the rest of the items saying: “The fact as well that so much of this has come from the donations of Stanbic staff and not just from the business side but from the staff themselves, to me that just adds value, it adds huge value. You need this kind of chair to be able to go into the shower. With this I am absolutely delighted.”
Furthermore the school’s 22 classroom interiors are to receive a fresh coat of paint, with the bank having donated tins of paint as well as provided for a professional painter to carry out the work.
“When the children come into their classes they’re going to come into smart classrooms, which is just wonderful; and we try to encourage the children to respect their environment and to respect one another because we are an inclusive school; we have mainstream, or able-bodied, children and children with special needs. For me, if the only thing we do is to help a generation of students grow up with a different attitude to special needs then I think we’ve succeeded,” added Sister Walker.
The team was educated on the challenges that special needs children face, particularly those who are deaf as well as blind. The Bauleni Special Needs Project seeks to create an enabling environment for the most marginalised and vulnerable young people through the provision of education and life-skill training. The project also runs an integrated Special Needs School that caters to physically challenged children as well as able bodied children.
“For us it’s not just about the institution giving back but also about the people: staff, supporting people and our communities, and we are proud as Stanbic to be a part of this and also enable those who are making a difference in our communities to continue doing so,” said Musambo.
How many of staff actually do anything away from such initiatives by their companies? A lot of us hide behind the corporate curtain but are literally savages in our communities, we don’t volunteer or care for refuse collection. My take is staff should be compelled to do something as individuals first then companies or departments second.
This is a big up but make it an annual or seasonal event well-done stanbic, other financial institutions where are you in the picture.