I&M Foundation News Category: Education and Skills Development

Head of I&M Foundation James Gatere and Naomi Cherotich, Programme Officer joined Foundation scholarship awardees from Strathmore University at Burudani Adventure Park in Limuru for a day of fun and team building. The activity was sponsored in full by the Foundation. 

At the onset of 2024, Oshwal College and I&M Foundation collaborated to create a scholarship fund for 20 deserving students to pursue Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) certificate courses. This fund is sponsored 100% by I&M Foundation which spearheads I&M Bank’s shared value agenda. The initiative is pursuant to I&M Foundation’s strategic focus area of, Education and Skills Development which aims to enhance education outcomes and value-adding life skills in an inclusive and equitable manner. 

 

The students were selected based on their level of financial need and academic performance. This scholarship will not only support tuition, exam fees, ICDL training and certification for computer skills, but also has structures in place to empower its beneficiaries as they pursue careers that will transform their lives and their communities. I&M Foundation believes that the multiplier effect of quality education benefits society, the environment, and the economy.

St. Ann Suresh Raja Girls High School, in conjunction with its Board of Management requested I&M Foundation to support them with a school bus. I&M Bank Kenya through I&M Foundation honored this request and donated a bus to the school. The school bus will be used to take students to school events, school competitions, and field trips to enhance their education. With their own school bus, the students are assured of safe travel; thus safeguarding the health of all learners and accompanying teachers.

 

Education and skills development is one of I&M Foundation key pillars and through this, the foundation is committed to supporting St Ann Suresh Raja Girls High School in being self-reliant by donating a school bus. Initiatives like these are meant to empower education by improving the learning environment of students. 

I&M Foundation partnered with Strathmore University under the Education and skills Development Pillar, to provide scholarships to 16 bright and financially challenged students to undertake various under-graduate programs starting in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Alongside sponsoring the beneficiaries’ university education, I&M Foundation together with the Strathmore University Financial Aid Office challenged the students to lead in a community project during their time at the university, thus contributing to their holistic development.

I&M Foundation in partnership with Shamas Rugby Foundation supports the Take Control Program, which is a life skills development programme tailored to engage young people through rugby sports and help them to develop into holistic people.   As part of this program, Shamas Rugby Foundation conducted 4 weeks of life skills camps during the school break aimed at achieving their objective. Once schools opened, the camps were rescheduled as weekend camps. The project was implemented in all target locations in Nairobi and Kiambu County.   Over 660 children were reached through these life skills camps with 350 participants attending the weekend life skills sessions. Over 630 caregivers engaged in community barazas on parenting skills where emerging issues of drugs and substance abuse were discussed.

I&M Foundation hands over the cheque to Palmhouse Foundation    I&M Bank has been offering secondary school scholarships to bright and talented children from financially challenged backgrounds through Palmhouse Foundation since 2005. There are a total of 52 continuing students and 108 alumni, 86% of whom qualified for Kenya Universities placements.   In the continued spirit of this partnership, I&M Foundation has further supported the Palmhouse Foundation by sponsoring an additional 25 students who joined Form 1 in National and County Secondary schools in August 2021. This brings the number of ongoing students to 77.   I&M Foundation participated in the Palmhouse Foundation’s Form 1 send-off and wished the beneficiaries success as they begin their new learning phases in their respective schools.

In addition to providing needy deserving bright students with scholarships, I&M Foundation has been supporting St. Ann Suresh Raja Girls High School by facilitating a mentorship and life skills programme to benefit all the school’s students.   The Foundation has been engaging I&M Bank staff in the execution of the school’s mentorship program. One of the program’s success stories in the 3^rd quarter of 2021 is the Career Day that the school rolled out shortly before closing for their holidays. Upon opening for the new term, the school has picked up the ‘Career Day’ concept and managed to roll out career clinics piloting with one of the classes.  

Mr. Sarit Raja-Shah, I&M Bank Foundation Trustee, and Mr. Azim Deen, Shamas Rugby Foundation Founder signing the MOU I&M Bank Foundation has launched its partnership with Shamas Rugby Foundation by sponsoring the Take Control Program to reach 1,500 young people from 5 informal settlements and rural areas in Nairobi and Kiambu County. The Shamas Rugby Foundation uses rugby sport as a platform to develop young people and instill off the rugby pitch life skills focusing on character building through mentorship, counseling, and community welfare programs. The Take Control Program is tailored to engage young people through rugby sports and help them to develop into holistic people. We are living in a multifaceted world with new different challenges facing different generations. The majority of the young people that the Shamas Foundation is working with are faced with various challenges that limit their endeavors to achieve quality life to an extent of being detrimental to their development, leading to poor decision-making skills and the arising of mental health issues. The I&M Bank Foundation is keen on changing the educational outcomes and achieving a holistic person through its Education and Skills Development pillar which resonates with the Take Control Program initiative. In line with the sustainable development goals, developing a holistic person is a societal goal to tap on in shaping young people’s lives for themselves and for generations to come. I&M Bank has supported Shamas Rugby Foundation since 2013 in the areas of education, counseling, mental health, and boosting their rugby teams. Rugby teaches us: **“Your biggest enemy isn’t someone else, it’s the ache in your lungs; it’s the burning in your legs; it’s the voice inside your head that yells CAN’T… but you don’t listen, you just push harder and then you hear the voice whisper CAN and you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the person you really are”** The lessons we are providing to the young people through the Take Control Program is a lesson for all of us; *“… the person you thought you were is no match for the person you really are”***** … So let’s change our *CAN’Ts***** to *CANs ***this** year.

It has become clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be with us for a longer time than earlier thought. It’s also clear that having students unoccupied for long periods at home leaves them prone to many kind of vices. We need to enable students quickly adjust to the ‘new normal’ even as we wait for schools to reopen. I&M Foundation has provided a grant of KES 2,000,000/- to provide data bundles to benefit sixty two very needy students spread out in Form one to Form three, enabling those in Form three to participate with their classmates on Zoom classes, while the other students will engage in online studies. In addition the funds will be used to sustain the school’s teaching and non-teaching staff, enabling them to support the students academically and provide mentorship during this period till schools open. Some of the major challenge faced by the school include many of the students needing to share the mobile devices with their parents / guardians who are also using the same devices to work, and therefore the students cannot have full time access. This is a big hindrance to the live zoom classes. The school will also post pre-recorded classes on Facebook, thus enabling students to retrieve them when they get access to the devices. The school has been diligent in contacting students mainly through WhatsApp with about 98% on board and connecting them to digital learning either through relatives or neighbours with smartphones who are willing to help. The other 2% are being supported via direct phone calls and get assigned work on text books that are already in their possession. The school’s desire is to have all the students on board and participating in the live interactions in as many subjects as possible. In carrying on with their online mentorship program, the school have come up with mentorship topics for the teachers to take up per week. I&M Bank staff have been informed about this partnership and encouraged to participate in the mentorship program.

I&M Bank Foundation Partners with Kenya Community Development Foundation on building Sustainable Environments The I&M Bank Foundation and the Kenya Community Development Foundation have signed a partnership on environmental conservation. The partnership will look to inculcate the culture and practice of environmental awareness and conservation amongst children and the youth in 172 learning institutions (primary, secondary and vocational) in 4 sub-counties in Narok and Kilifi counties. The 3-year conservation programme endeavours to help counter the current environmental degradation and effects of climate change; by restoring the environment through tree planting, adoption of clean energy including use of energy-saving Jikos, solar for lighting, and sustainable waste management which includes investment in waste collection points and use of bio-gas, while nurturing a generation of future environmentalists. Kilifi and Narok county development plans for 2018-2022, recognize charcoal burning, soil erosion, land degradation and climate change, as the most daunting environmental challenges. The two counties also appreciate that clean energy reduces health problems, reduces dependency on forest trees and increases hours of studies for school-going children. KCDF and I&M Bank Foundation will plug into the counties’ development plans to help them achieve their environmental conservation goals. The partnership with KCDF, which comprises of an investment of over Kshs. 50 million from the Bank’s Foundation in the next three years, is expected to benefit over 5,000 households in the two counties. The interventions will target water catchment communities, where these children and youth come from, ensuring that environmental conservation practices are entrenched in them and their communities as a way of life. The rollout will be implemented through targeted learning institutions (primary, secondary and vocational) and areas around religious institutions, markets among others. Key activities that will be conducted under this programme include: tree planting exercises, training on solar energy, use of energy saving jikos within tertiary institutions and secondary schools, training on water harvesting and waste management, use of clean energy in learning institutions such as bio gas among other activities. Commenting on the development, Sarit Raja-Shah, Trustee, I&M Bank Foundation noted, “At the Foundation, we have identified the challenges undermining efforts in protecting and restoring natural and sustainable environments in the country. We realise and appreciate that sustainable environments play a critical role in achieving the country’s economic growth plans, therefore we have set up inclusive and measurable programmes and interventions to address these challenges.” “The partnership with our able partners KCDF, that we are rolling out today, aimed at benefitting children and the youth in Narok and Kilifi counties, perfectly aligns with the Bank’s Foundation’s initiatives on environmental conservation; and I believe that this will help nurture a generation of passionate environmentalists for generations to come,” he added.

The I&M Bank scholarship sponsorship partnership was launched in 2010. In its first cohort of sponsorship, 10 bright students from disadvantaged backgrounds were selected and enrolled into Strathmore University. The sponsorship was an inaugural scholarship that sought to create higher education opportunities at the then School of Finance and Applied Economics (SFAE) that had been set up and was enrolling its pioneer class. The school was setup to offer degree programs in Bachelor of Business Science in Actuarial Sciences, Finance and Financial Economics. At about the same time, I&M Bank then a service provider to the University, was looking for corporate social responsibility opportunities that were aligned to its mission and industry focus. It identified capacity building in the financial sector through SFAE as a perfect fit. The launch of the scholarship not only had the effect of enhancing visibility of I&M Banks social responsibility, but also on raising awareness on the University’s new degree programs that were to build human resource capacity in the financial sector.

I&M Bank provides scholarships for needy students pursuing various Finance related degree programmes. Here is one success story from one of the beneficiaries (Meleah Oleche) of the Strathmore University partnership with I&M Bank. See video below (View in full screen)

  I&M Bank Kenya, through its CSR program, has continued to support needy and deserving children through provision of secondary school education scholarships. Over and above the school scholarships, the Bank’s staff members participate in the Foundation’s annual mentorship forum to encourage, train and impart wisdom on the beneficiaries. I&M Bank stands committed to impact the lives of the children well beyond the monetary aspect by training them on how to be transformative leaders of tomorrow, through these mentorship forums. The Palmhouse Foundation mentorship programme is an opportunity to share insights with the young minds as also serves as a chance to interact with the mentors at a personal level.

 

The inauguration of St Ann Suresh Raja Girls High School – Kairi took place on the 12th of March 2018. The ribbon-cutting ceremony in the presence of I&M Bank Chairman, Suresh Bhai Raja Shah marked the official opening of St Ann Suresh Raja Girls High School Kairi. The school started operating on 10th January 2018 and currently has 45 students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I&M Bank in conjunction with Kenya Forest Service championed replanting of indigenous trees at Karura Forest In 2005, I&M Bank in conjunction with Kenya Forest Service decided to help champion the cause against the destruction of the country’s forests by undertaking to replant indigenous trees and develop and maintain 10 hectares of the forest. Unfortunately in 2009, part of the Karura including the I&M Forest was destroyed by fire, and there was need to replant again. In 2011, I&M Bank then replanted the forest with indigenous Kenyan trees and has taken all steps to ensure that the growth of the trees are well managed and are thriving as expected.