Volunteer program for BNP Paribas employees in Peru

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. 

Accomplishments

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. On the marketing side, the website has been completely redesigned. A Facebook page and a video to present the structure have also been created.
   
4. 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!