Fondation Espoir et Development (FED)

Beachcomber’s helping hand to the community.

Leader of the hotel industry, Beachcomber has reaffirmed its role as a socially conscious corporation.
“Fondation Espoir and Development” (FED) was created in April 1999 to formalize the group’s commitment towards the community. Beachcomber is today a leader in corporate social responsibility.

About the FED

The FED replicates the organisational structure of a private company. A board of Directors supervises appointed regional committees formed by volunteer employees who work hand in hand with Community Based Organisations (CBO’s). The involvement of CBO’s provides an accurate insight of the community’s needs and allows the committees to prioritise requests for funding and determine adequate course of action. The FED also forms a multi-stakeholder platform that provides the basis for common actions.

Goals

The FED differentiates itself from many social welfare organisations. While providing substantial financial support to the NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisations), the FED’s ultimate aim is to teach the underprivileged to become self-sufficient and able to sustain themselves.

Strategies

To achieve this goal, the FED:

· Collaborates with the NGO’s by financing social projects and through consulting over selected matters
· Acts as a coordinator to develop a network including government bodies, NGO’s and private sector to channel all individual efforts into one direction
· Creates awareness of social responsibility at all levels

Achievements

The FED has donated Rs 60 Millions from April 1999 to June 2007 to fund local projects submitted by NGO’s and CBO’s. Some areas are favoured such as education, health, welfare of disabled persons, social and economic development.
The FED prefers long-term financial assistance to one-off projects. This approach promotes continuity and sets the basis for other projects by allowing infrastructures and jobs to be created.

To maximise impact on the community, the FED has created a network of partners involving all stakeholders of the society. Many examples of collaboration illustrate their inter-dependence:

· Contribution of the FED to the Poverty Action Plan, under the aegis of the Trust Fund for the Social Integration of Vulnerable Groups
· Long-term training programmes for the NGO’s with the help of the UNICEF, De Chazal du Mée – a private firm – and the Barclays Bank
· Campaign against substance abuse and AIDS in 2005 in collaboration with the NGO’s

The FED developed a code of practice from its collaboration with the various NGO’s. To enhance awareness on social issues, the FED circulates documentation on its policy and practices to inspire other enterprises.

FED PROJECTS

PEJ “Projet Employabilité Jeunes”

In 2004, the FED launched the PEJ “Projet Employabilité Jeunes” (“Youth Employment Project”) to prepare teenagers aged 17 to 20 to the reality of the workplace.
Training covers everything from academic basics to work ethics including reading and writing skills, sound arithmetical basics and social aptitudes.
Industrial placements organised by the FED give the opportunity to the young underprivileged to gain valuable experience in the Mauritian enterprises.

FED’s craftsmanship project

This project has been launched in 2006. The aim: encourage artisans to create culture-based hand-made products destined to tourists. This project will aid artisans by providing appropriate training and consulting services to help the creation of micro-enterprises.

Alpha project – software to learn to read and write

In 2006, the FED started its fight against illiteracy in Mauritius by introducing the Alpha project based on a software created to teach the uneducated to read and write.

http://www.fonesdev.org/