Organisations find themselves in a position where they are required to actively participate in the development of the communities within which they operate. This is has been aptly termed corporate social responsibility or corporate citizenship. Organisations have a responsibility to work with local communities to implement projects geared towards uplifting their quality of life. Colossal amounts of money have been spent on setting up foundations, whose main task is to design strategies to socially invest in communities.
Every week, media publications carry images of corporate executives who have gone out of their daily routine to build classrooms and witness the drilling of boreholes, among other activities.
But the real impact of CSR should be empowering individuals with skills and opportunities to enable them to effect change within their communities. When an organisation builds a tuition block in a school, or donates textbooks, it does this with the hope that pupils will make good use of these resources to get a better education. The end goal is to have the students come back to their communities after completing their education to find ways to solve problems bedevilling their kinsmen.
With this in mind, organisations therefore need to initiate sustainable community projects. Before any partnership with communities, organisations ought to have studied how empowerment will be transferred from individuals to groups of people and eventually the community at large through the use of local resources. This participatory approach should be the hallmark of every CSR initiative.
The Chinese contractors building the standard gauge railway came in with the objective of delivering the new line to the government within the stipulated time frame. But, as with every responsible organisation globally, projects geared towards improving the lives along the SGR have dominated the contractor’s operations.
By asking local communities to set up committees comprising of local leaders, national and county government representatives, the contractor has managed to identify their need areas. High among these is water.
The SGR Phase 2A passes through Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Nakuru and Narok counties. Almost 90 per cent of the residents who live close to the railway’s route have little or no water for personal consumption or their livestock. The China Communications Construction Company has been drilling boreholes for communities living in arid and semi-arid regions.
Before it started drilling the boreholes, the contractor had been providing water to the communities through water bowsers parked at designated locations three days a week. In Narok, where livestock-rearing is the main source of livelihood, the firm has dug a water pan at Dukamoja to provide water for animals.
With a constant supply of clean water, children within these communities can concentrate on their studies without the worry of having to trek long distances in search of water. To further enhance their education, the company has been upgrading the facilities in some schools, including the construction of new tuition blocks and administrative office at Ereteti and Oloitip primary schools in Narok county. It has donated 120 desks to Ereteti Primary School.
At the heart of corporate citizenship is a volunteering nature. Availing resources, skills and time in a moment of need. The heavy rains pounding most regions have perhaps helped build a stronger relationship between the contractor and surrounding communities.
The three company section offices located along the Mai Mahiu–Narok road have played a key role in ensuring normal traffic flow after some sections were rendered impassable by a fissure and soil washed away on other parts. The offices have been providing machines required for clearing the road, without disrupting the ongoing railway construction.
Overall, corporate citizenship is about a better community for future generations. The sustainability of CSR is down to a cohesive partnership between the organisation, local community and government.
Communications consultant