The mission took place at the end of July 2011 in an MFI -MicroFinance Institution- called CECM (Credits and Savings Cooperative Association) that is based in Bujumbura, Burundi. The mission had a double bottom line: first, define performance management policies and second, participate in the drafting of an HR procedures handbook for the staff.

This request for a mission resulted from the growing size of CECM, which has reached a critical size and wants to be able to cope with its 2012 business plan (increase in both the number of staff and local agencies). Moreover, the Board had recorded discrepancies among staff members’ performance and was therefore aiming at improving the performance management system and at elaborating a training policy.

“Prior to the mission, I did some research on MFIs’ functioning and more specifically on HR managementin MFIs. Once I was in the field, I did an HR audit of CECM, analysing the functioning of the existing HR process. I based my work on internal documentation such as the business plan, staff statutes and other HR documents. Then I conducted interviews with staff members from different hierarchical levels and departments (Branches, Credit, Finance, Debt Collection and Management).

Hence, I conducted an analysis and wrote an assessment report with observations and recommendations that I presented to the Board at the end of my mission. Back in Belgium, I worked on an HR procedures manual for the staff and then sent it to CECM. I tried to be as pragmatic as possible so to enable CECM to implement efficiently the recommendations I made.

For me, this mission was a marvellous experience on a professional, cultural and human level. I’d recommend it and would do it again!”

Related posts:

1. Mission: Microfinance in India
2. MFSF: A week on assignment in Burkina Faso
3. End of the mission in the French Amazon

The AJAHM association (Association of Young Adults with Motor Disabilities) is attached to the Centre d’Hérauritz in Ustaritz in Spain’s Basque Country. It welcomes people with motor disabilities, both with and without associated disorders, and brings together the parents of the residents.

We spoke to Geneviève Barthou, BNP Paribas Retail Bank employee and a volunteer with AJAHM, about her involvement.

What is your role in this association?

I have been part of this association since 2005. We meet monthly to discuss the organization of activities for residents and how to raise funds. It’s not enough for us just to have ideas – we also need to have the means to implement them. I personally have the advantage of belonging to the BNP Paribas Group, and am therefore able to help the association through the Coup de Pouce (Helping Hand) programme.

The Centre is subject to strict budgetary controls. It partially funds some projects, but it asks the association to provide financial support for major projects. AJAHM contributes as much as it can by organizing bingo events and small shows, and the parents of the residents also make contributions.

How does the support of the Helping Hand programme open new options for the Centre’s activities?

The assistance provided by the Helping Hand programme has allowed us to set up an on-site entertainment programme for residents for whom it is difficult to go on outings. This programme is designed for the least autonomous residents of the Centre. The majority of these individuals have multiple disabilities, including significant difficulties in communicating. Weekly sessions are organized for them in three areas: music therapy, art therapy and animal-assisted therapy. In these workshops, communication takes place through music, contact with animals and artistic expression.

How was this project implemented?

The project was tailor-made for the Helping Hand programme. It was designed by the head of the Centre’s socio-educational department, at my request. This is the first time that we’ve created these types of workshops. I had an opportunity to participate, with a different organisation, in an animal-assisted therapy session that was very well received by the residents; these children are very receptive to contact with animals and to all forms of non-verbal communication. A hugely successful project!

Over to Nadine Lamarque, President of AJAHM:

Why was the AJAHM association created?

AJAHM was founded in 1989 as a result of the desire of the parents of these children to meet, share information and take collective action to ensure the children’s improved well-being. Twelve parents of Centre residents are members of the board, and are involved to a greater or lesser degree in the life of the association. Initially, the association funded only small projects – outings to the cinema, for example. It has grown considerably since then, and we are now involved in much more substantial projects.

Applying for the Helping Hand programme gave us the opportunity to attempt a more capital-intensive project. We are a small organization that works with a small budget based on contributions from parents, family members and friends, and on grants from local councils that we apply for. With your “helping hand” – and that’s exactly the right term! – we can pay the people who run the music therapy, animal-assisted therapy and art therapy workshops.

Is there a particular activity that was supported by the Association that you feel had an especially positive result?

In fact, all of these activities are a success because they are outings. The children enjoy them enormously because it takes them out of their day-to-day environment, and they are in contact with ordinary people. And just getting out, having a change of scene, going to the Calicéo spa therapy centre, going out to the cinema or to concerts – this is a big deal for them.

A dog-sledding outing was organised this winter. A group went on a two-day skiing trip, where they were able to ski using equipment modified for people with disabilities. My son went there two years ago. I saw a video and photos of the trip – I would never have believed that one day he would be able to do this! It’s wonderful to see the look of delight on these kids’ faces and the way their eyes light up!

When will the activities supported by the Helping Hand programme take place and how will they be structured?

The workshops are scheduled from mid-May until mid-July, and then from early October to December. The project is primarily aimed at residents of the CRM (Centre de Rééducation Motrice – the Centre for Motor Rehabilitation), the MAS (Maison d’Adultes Spécialisée – Specialised Adult Facility, for individuals over the age of 20) and the Groupe Eveil (the Discovery Group – for children with multiple disabilities).

In all, 40 of the Centre’s 70 residents will benefit from these workshops—a large proportion. Each workshop will include 10 young people from different groups, so each will be a mixed group. I think it will have a very positive impact on everyone!

The BNP Paribas Foundation’s “Helping Hand” programme for employee projects provides support for projects run by not-for-profit associations of broad general interest, with which BNP Paribas employees are involved as volunteers. Since its creation in 2003, the Foundation has provided support for more than 380 health and solidarity projects in France and abroad.

Related posts:

1. Interview with Karima Rais: Volunteering for the ISSIL Association
2. Two new vehicles for the Anaïs association in Morocco
3. The “Mission Bleu Ciel” Association works on behalf of disabled pilots

On Sunday, 26 September, like every other year, the many members of the Vaincre la Mucoviscidose (“Beating Cystic Fibrosis”) Association are holding the Virade de l’Espoir (“Challenge for Hope”) events throughout France to raise funds for the fight against cystic fibrosis.

I volunteer my time to assist with the Vaincre la Mucoviscidose’s events, and in 2010 I received a Coup de Pouce (Helping Hand) grant from the BNP Paribas Foundation.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that slowly and irreversibly reduces the sufferers’ ability to breathe.

So – what are you doing on Sunday, September 26th?

You could, for example, participate in the challenge being set by the “viradeurs” from St Méloir des Ondes in the Ille-et-Vilaine region of France, which will be held at the same time as the traditional challenge.

Their main idea this year is for participants to sing in a round, non-stop, for 24 hours.

24 hours of giving your breath to sing a hymn of hope. 24 hours of song will require quite a few singers, so if you’d like to meet this challenge with them, please don’t hesitate to join in!

Also on 26 September, you might want to explore the Virade de Savenay’s new site in the Loire-Atlantique region of France. This year’s event will be held at the racetrack. The track will be the rallying point for the many participants who will be walking for the cause, and who, after their efforts, will be able to enjoy the activities and performances that will be taking place throughout the day.

These are just two examples, but wherever you find yourself on 26 September 2010, you’ll be able to participate in a Virade de l’Espoir near you.

During the course of the day, you’ll have a chance to contribute your breath, your time, or a financial donation to the fight against cystic fibrosis.

Don’t hold back – join in the fight and help to breathe life into those who are struggling to breathe!

Related posts:

1. In search for the Greenest Enterprise
2. Ludovic de Montille at the Women changing India preview, 14th September 2011 in London

Stéphanie Trottier is an employee in at BNP Paribas (Canada) in Montreal, and has just returned from a humanitarian mission to El Salvador. Stéphanie was sponsored by the “Coup de Pouce” (“Helping Hand”) programme in Canada, and has taken the time to tell us a little more about her experience in the heart of Central America.

How did you come to take part in the El Salvador 2010 project?
A friend who had already worked with the Global Youth Network told me about the project early this year. The team needed a few more members and she asked me if I’d like to join. I was immediately interested in the project and the location. I’ve travelled a lot and was eager to do so in a different way. I didn’t want merely to see another culture – I wanted to understand it by taking part in a project like this. I liked the attitude and aims of Réseau Mondial Jeunesse, too; it’s an organisation that tries to develop leadership in young people as well as links between the people of developed countries and those of less developed ones. I soon found that the project was a great way to help them.

How did your “partnership” with the bank go? How did you go about it?
I explained the project to the Communications department and gave them a detailed letter about it, written by one of the organisation’s voluntary workers. A few weeks later, I received a reply. The procedure wasn’t very complicated and they responded fairly quickly.

What memories of the country will stay with you?
The people of El Salvador are highly resourceful. In rural areas, at least, they manage with very little and live simply. However, they have many aspirations and are increasingly influenced by American culture. They would very much like to live in North America where “everything” is possible, according to them. They know a lot about their flora and fauna and use all kinds of plants for their medical attributes. They’re friendly and welcoming. Most of all, I have fond memories of the families who welcomed me and the many things we did together.

Thanks, Stéphanie!

Related posts:

1. Caminos 2010-2011: Baroque music in the heart of Latin America
2. Pro Juventute Nederland benevolent fund – helping young people find their way
3. A Story of Mutual Enrichment in Senegal

As an employee of BNP Paribas Fortis, I took a few months’ leave of absence to go to India. I was to assist the management of ESAF Microfinance and Investments (Private) Ltd. (EMFIL) in implementing their growth strategy and in establishing a social performance management system.

Based in Thrissur, in the state of Kerala, this microfinance institution was established in 2006 by ESAF India, an NGO that has been involved in community development for last 18 years. EMFIL provides a range of financial products to over 230,000 customers who are excluded from the traditional banking system.

At the same time, ESAF India and its affiliates provide a myriad of services that help empower its customers both economically and socially: they provide technical training, facilitate access to the market, develop production capacity, create their own “fair trade” brand, provide health insurance, organize forums on various issues that affect the communities such as AIDS, and support communities in post-tsunami reconstruction…just to name a few!

While working at EMFIL, I discovered a profoundly socially-oriented organization that has remained true to its original mission, despite its transformation into a regulated institution. Buoyed by the optimism of its management team, EMFIL plans to expand even further.

One of the basic principles of microfinance is the dual mission of social and financial performance. Consequently, a rapidly growing institution such as EMFIL must ensure that its systems, policies and procedures are sufficiently developed to guarantee and safeguard its social responsibility and de facto protect the customer.

Working in India is an extraordinarily enriching experience, though between the daily power cuts and the stifling heat it can be challenging at times—imagine 36° Celsius heat with 70% humidity, and obviously no air conditioning!

During my one-month assignment, I also had the opportunity to visit a few customers and talk to them about the impact microcredit had on their day-to-day lives. Najeeba, for one, makes decorations for elephants. Thanks to her microcredit loan, she has been able to buy more materials and therefore expand her business. Requests are pouring in from all over India, and Najeeba now employs several women in her village.

I arrived in Madras this week for my second assignment, this time with IFMR Capital. The amazing contrast between the quiet and welcoming countryside and the traffic and chaos of the city is something to behold…I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Related posts:

1. International microfinance: new perspectives, new challenges
2. FTT: microfinance in Nepal
3. Christophe Jacquet’s Mission in Burundi

In September 1995, after 8 years of marriage and having received all the treatments that modern medicine could provide, my husband and I finally resolved to take a different path from the one we’d imagined and made the big decision to adopt a child. Today, we are the parents of two young boys, both from Saigon. Paul, born in 1995, and Baptiste, born in 1997, came into our lives thanks to the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul.

In the case of our eldest son, we had taken every step imaginable, and finally in September we had the privilege of meeting two BNP Paribas employees who guided us to our future child. I could never thank Marie-Hélène Février enough for introducing us to her aunt, the head of an authorised adoption agency in Cognac, who entrusted us with little Thé Minh (Light of the World, who we then renamed Paul) the following October.

In the meantime, Yves Henry, who had heard about us and who had just returned from Vietnam, called me several times a day to guide and advise me about all the practical arrangements that we would have to deal with upon our arrival.

That is how we came to discover Vietnam. The adoption process was extremely long and we had to remain in the country for two and a half months. Consequently we had time to spare. Thanks to an invaluable introduction by Yves, we were introduced to the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul, known as the Daughters of Charity. We wanted to help them – just to be of use.

Initially, my husband Nicholas gave French lessons to the seminarians and to the Lazarist priests (part of the same congregation as the nuns) and then we learnt that we would be spending some time in a school.

We will never forget the smiles on each of those children’s faces. They were so happy to see us in their classroom, at lunch, at naptime and during break. They roared with laughter at our attempts to pronounce a few words in Vietnamese.

Then Christmas came. These little children had nothing to call their own. With our modest financial contribution, Sister Marie-Julie was able to give each child a small gift that included a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a cup, a bath sponge, a little car for the boys and a tiny doll for the girls. The children were so amazed, and this day will remain forever etched in our memories. (I forgot to mention that my husband dressed up as Santa Claus–in spite of the incredible heat!). It was the very first time that they had ever recieved anything that was truly theirs. Some of them went off quietly on their own to carefully open their package, taking absolute delight in the modest presents they found inside.

Other families, especially Yves’ family, had similar experiences. We couldn’t remain indifferent to the fate of these little ones and just return home with our children as if we weren’t aware of the way things were in Vietnam. We just had to return in 1997 with our adoption approval in hand, praying that the sisters would be able to give us another child, and we rejoiced when Xuan Bao (Treasure of Springtime) came into our open arms. We continued to work with the nuns as we had in 1995, as the adoption process was still painfully slow. We spent every possible minute helping the sisters in their work.

And so, a few families who had developed a close relationship with the nuns decided to set up a not-for-profit association to raise funds to help the poorest of the poor. The creation of the association “Aide au Vietnam et à l’Enfance” (AVE – “Aid for Vietnam and its Children”) was due in large part to the efforts of the Henry and Flambart families.

From very modest beginnings, the association now sponsors 1,300 children, builds schools and supports a range of projects. Its operating costs are kept to a minimum thanks to the many volunteers who dedicate heart and soul to the venture.

The country is lacking on so many fronts, particularly with respect to medical care: the effects of Agent Orange (a dioxin-based herbicide used during the Vietnam War) continues to have a detrimental effect on the population and results in many children being born with severe physical and/or mental deformities. We never hear about it in the media, so who will come to visit these hydrocephalic orphans? Who will adopt these babies born without arms or legs? And when they are left to grow up on the streets, who will provide them with an education and ensure they receive adequate medical and dental care? What kind of future do they have?

Today, AVE is able to help the Sisters to feed and clothe these children, and to give them an education provided by skilled and specialist teachers. AVE also provides medical care for each sponsored child, in the form of one to two medical and dental visits per year. AVE offers the older children the chance to learn a trade (i.e as a cook or housekeeper). Finally, AVE also builds schools, digs wells and supports other projects in collaboration with other associations.

Recently, the association has had to deal with a new issue: inflation. This has resulted in a 30% rise in the price of rice each year. This is the country’s staple food, and we must buy it each day for our sponsored children. Every little bit of help, however small, is essential if our endeavours are to succeed.

Supporting a child for one month costs just 8 euros. Other individual initiatives are also very welcome (car boot sales, concerts, fund raisers etc.). Please do get in touch with us and we’ll help you turn your idea into a reality.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope that many of you will join us and share in our adventure.

Related posts:

1. Providing an education for all children of Vietnam
2. Bringing comfort to flood victims in Vietnam
3. Pesinet: health in Africa

They wander the streets of Calcutta in their millions, in search of a livelihood; millions of children who live in squats, in shacks, on sidewalks … the majority are immigrants, clearly extremely poor, and are either orphans or have only one parent to support them.

Under these circumstances, where drug trafficking and sexual abuse are a daily threat, the children have neither the time nor the material or emotional stability to attend school and acquire the basic education that would enable them to learn a trade.

At the beginning of the 1990’s, Janine Walter, a retired English teacher, visited Mother Teresa in Calcutta. During this trip, she had a life-changing encounter with young volunteers who were providing informal education to the children of one of the poorest slums in the city. Deeply moved, she helped them to structure their program, creating the not-for-profit association Calcutta, de la rue à l’école (Calcutta, from the street to the school).

Juliette Karrer, an employee of BNP Paribas, has supported this association for nearly eight years. Now vice-president of the association, Juliet has received financial support from the BNP Paribas Foundation as part of its Coup de Pouce (Helping Hand) employee program.

Thanks to this support, Calcutta, from the street to the school has been able to carry out an innovative project: to create an educational “e-wall” in the heart of the slums of Calcutta, giving the most disadvantaged children in the city access to education and schooling, through the use of computers.

Computers will be installed on the external walls of youth centres, located in several neighbourhoods, and are already being used free of charge by Calcutta, from the street to the school for its introduction to education program in the heart of the slums. These computers will be accessible to children, who will be able use them completely independently. Equipped with a touch screen and designed to withstand the vagaries of the weather as well as power outages, the machines will have internet access and will feature a number of educational software programs that will build on the natural propensity for children to learn best in groups. Suitable for primary education, they will allow these children who do not attend school to acquire basic knowledge and skills.

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1. Finding the way to school
2. Creation of a school in Togo
3. School for Everyone

But I’m not writing to talk about the political situation in Lebanon, or to tell you in detail about our experiences on this particular visit.
I’d like to talk about how things can change, and about the work of an association that brings a lot of hope and which takes practical steps towards creating peace. This organisation is called OffreJoie (Bringing Hope), a Lebanese association that I support and that is attempting to lay the foundations for peace and dialogue in this beautiful country, in the hopes of creating ever more peace and dialogue in the future.

OffreJoie was created in 1985 as the result of a bet made by 5 students of Lebanese origin and a variety of different faiths. They committed to setting up a free, multi-faith holiday camp, provided that each of their mothers agreed to prepare one meal for 40 people on one of the days of the camp.

And so, for 25 years, OffreJoie has provided an opportunity each summer for Lebanese youths to live together irrespective of their social and religious origins.
This year, from July to August, OffreJoie’s permanent centre in Kfifane (north of Beirut) will once again host children aged 8 to 12 years, for free, week after week. They will be supervised by volunteers from Europe and Lebanon (if you’re interested in volunteering, contact: paris@offrejoie.com).

In addition to the holiday camps, OffreJoie has become an apolitical, multi-faith and community-minded Lebanese movement that aims to build bridges among the Lebanese:

•    by carrying out social projects throughout Lebanon, including during the summer: renovating distressed neighbourhoods (Bab El Tebbaneh in Northern Lebanon), schools (Bazbina in 2009 in Northern Lebanon) and prisons (Tebnine in 2009 in South Lebanon).
•    through reintegration camps for young offenders and abused girls every year in September in Kfifane.
•    through community-inspired initiatives throughout the year: community demonstrations, citizenship training, multi-faith prayers, the “sweaters for prisoners” program, “Operation Christmas Tree”, the “Roads to Kfifane” music festival, etc.

In Paris, former OffreJoie volunteers get involved to help to finance activities in Lebanon and to publicise the movement through a cultural event, the Paris OffreJoie Souk, held every year in December.

Related posts:

1. Alpine Peace Crossing
2. FTT: Discovery of a new continent
3. Two interviews with the AJAHM association

Since the dawn of time, parents have told their children fairy tales, stories of the past and stories drawn from the imagination, which help children to develop a moral compass, a set of values, an identity and a sense of context and relationships, which enable them to imagine their own futures.

The Opera, presented as tales for children, provides an ideal transition between the end of a stage during which children can dream of imaginary princes and princesses, in a rose-tinted world where Santa Claus and his reindeer live, and the time of disillusionment … where often everything collapses at once, as the loss of faith in Santa Claus casts a chill over all other dreams … it’s so disappointing to discover that for so many years, your parents, albeit with love, have been telling you a pack of lies …

What a disappointment to discover that all these stories aren’t real … that your parents have been lying.  How should you think about your parents now?  Can you still trust them?

I’m exaggerating, of course  … but all the same, it changes the way you look at things!

When the Opera tells a story, the child knows in advance that it’s just a show, and he or she can be a part of it …
Today, when the search for identity has become more and more confused, a source of exclusion and conflict, the opera provides an inexhaustible source of links with our history, the history of our civilization, relationships between people, friendships betrayed, love thwarted, human dramas, and above all: joyful intrigues …

Since 1987, the opera school for children in Geneva has taken operas and told them to children as stories, building scale models and animating them with coloured-in drawings of characters and scenery. The music rings out, and already, they’re caught up in the story …

The course takes place for three hours each Wednesday, over a two year period, during which they cover the “Grand Repertoire”, from Caccini to Mozart, from Puccini to Verdi, and from Bizet to Prokofiev … it’s all fair game for dreams and creativity.

The singing technique taught at the school is unique, as it was created especially for the children by Sophie Ellen Franck, whose passion for teaching has led her to expand and enrich the learning methods.  Everything is both serious and playful at the same time.  After all, it’s Wednesday – a time to learn and develop while having fun.
What a surprise for the mothers when they see their children singing alone on the big stage, just a few weeks later …
The development of a sense of awareness of the body, of posture, of breathing exercises and of sound bites creates, little by little, a happy child.

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2. BlogTV: Learning the art of storytelling with Piccolo Opera
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