• The cost of treating diseases traced to poor water and sanitation standards, such as cholera and diarrhoea, is a driver of poverty given most families in rural areas don’t have sufficient health cover
AAR Insurance has started an initiative to improve water and sanitation standards in schools.
The underwriter has began the drive in Machakos county where it has partnered with the Kenya Community Development Foundation to construct sanitation blocks for three schools in Wamunyu area.
Through the initiative, the company aims to transform the lives of approximately 900 schoolchildren annually. It will do so by supporting the construction of two showers, three sinks and six toilets in each partner school.
“Access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene can reduce prevalence of many communicable diseases, leading to improved health, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development,” said Nixon Shigoli, the managing director of AAR Insurance.
Shigoli said the cost of treating diseases traced to poor water and sanitation standards, such as cholera and diarrhoea, was a driver of poverty given most families in rural areas still don’t have sufficient health cover.
He lamented the fact that illness keeps children out of school, noting that the company’s water and sanitation initiative would help address the issues.
The initiative is part of AAR Insurance’s broader commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 3, which deals with health and well-being, and Goal 6, which deals with water and sanitation.
The initiative is expected to be implemented on an annual basis. AAR Insurance is pioneering a new model of corporate social responsibility, where the company makes long-term commitments on issues that matter to a cross-section of stakeholders, including its employees, communities where it operates and its business partners.
“For corporate social responsibility to be truly impactful, it needs to be solution-oriented and must respond to the big issues facing your stakeholders, starting with your staff and business partners and extending all the way to the communities where you operate in,” Shigoli said.
He said the company this year launched the “AAR Thrive campaign” to champion "this model of CSR."
“It is a sustainable model because happy staff results in better performance. Happy business partners result in greater innovation and collaboration that improve our competitiveness. Thriving and prosperous communities are more likely to spend on financial products, especially insurance which is an essential part of any personal financial plan.”