The Fellowship Program
Aurélien B. Guichard, Nathalie Lafon, Monique Rahimi and Guillaume Wong-So had the opportunity to be the first participants in the inaugural Fellowship Program, a unique initiative for employees to share their skills and expertise with underserved communities through a meaningful gift of their time.
These four BNP Paribas employees volunteered to support La Comunidad de Ninos Sagrada Familia, one of the largest youth centers in Peru, hosting a school, an orphanage and a daycare clinic. They helped improve the daily lives of the 1,500 children.
La Comunidad de Ninos Sagrada Familia in figures
1,200
children attending school every day including 300 orphans living on site
30
teachers & 8 educators
30
classrooms
1
clinic
Accomplishments
From May 18 to May 31, our four volunteers were able to make a meaningful impact on La Comunidad de Ninos Sagrada Familia:- On the accounting front, they were able to identify all expenses and revenues and create a tool to capture all transactions. Staff were trained on this tool and weekly follow-ups have been scheduled to continue the set up. The team also explored options to obtain the center a tax-exempt not-for-profit status.
- In terms of infrastructure, the priority was to find a solution to have running water. They were able to bring in a contractor and a plumbing engineer to assess solutions for the water situation. Important improvements were also made in the kitchen area, where 2 industrial refrigerators were repaired that are now up and running like new, and a new roof over the main pantry has been installed. Discussions are ongoing to continue improving the living conditions (such as plumbing facilities and security issues).
- On the marketing side, the website has been completely redesigned. A Facebook page and a video to present the structure have also been created.
- In addition to participating in daily activities such as cooking, tutoring, and giving and observing classes, our volunteers also hosted some fun events - including a pizza party, a movie and a hot chocolate night and a hip-hop class!
Their experience in a few words
Aurélien B. Guichard
"The Fellowship Program is proof that our experience and expertise can be of great help to others outside of the financial Industry. I hope that we will be able to continue such great Initiatives at BNP Paribas to push us outside of our comfort zone."
Nathalie Lafon
"It is very difficult to distill such an experience in a few sentences. We left with a mission and we were there to help. We did accomplish much, and we worked very hard, but I didn't expect to get so much more in return. The kids taught us a tremendous lesson in resilience, grace and Joy"
Monique Rahimi
"This Fellowship was a wonderful opportunity to use our professional skills to benefit a worthy non-profit, and was personally a truly enriching experience that I will never forget"
Guillaume Wong-So
"I'm grateful and proud that BNP Paribas organized this volunteering Initiative, with our skills being used to help this community not only now, but also for the long-term. This was a once-in-a-lifetime human experience and I'm humbled by these amazing kids/young adults that possess such great communal values and easy smiles, despite facing such difficult material and familial conditions"
La Comunidad de Ninos Sagrada Familia
ninosperu.wixsite.com/sagradafamiliaDiscover the new website of Comunidad de Ninos Sagrada Familia
Visit