THINKING OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?

VERY rar ely is on e impressed, am az ed, encou rage d an d mot ivat ed, al l in on e go, at the exp erience that of ten cros s ou r pat hs. It is usual ly a ve ry random sensat ion . It is tha t feeling tha t cha racterised the eve nt s of tha t Wedne sday, July 18, 2018 at the Allianc e Franç aise de Lusaka . We were treated to a god show coupl ed with myriad stor ies of the hu mane com mitments by indi vi duals enga ge d with vul ne rabl e chi ldren and yout h. In col labor ation with the Erasmus+ and attende d by the Frenc h amba ssador in Zambi a, the Barefeet team put up a cultural exc ha nge eve ni ng tha t was pa cke d with pe rfor ming troupe s from Zambi a repr esent ed by Barefeet The artre, Franc e repr esent ed by Samba Résille and Sout h Africa repr esent ed by Artscape The atre Cent re, each br ingi ng the traditiona l danc es and pe rfor manc e to the ni ght tha t was wor th much mor e tha n a free ent ry we were treated to. The ni ght was as can be expe cted full of ene rgy and pa ssion from the danc ers and the audienc e alike . The noi se from the audienc e was ent hus ing and the unbr idled exc itement exhi larating. As unf or ge ttabl e the expe rienc e of the pe rfor manc es was, it was also made much mor e rewarding and enc or ed by the pur pos e tha t Barefeet was created for . It felt rewarding to be pa rt of the ens embl e, eve nj ust as a spe ctator .

The pe rfor manc e inc luded acroba tic danc es, Samba drumming, Sout h African Zulu danc es and the Zambi an artistic drumming and danc ing tha t ha s its or igi n from Zambi a’s pe atlands of Nor th- Western Provi nc e. The acroba tics were awe ins pi ring, tant alising and ga sp ent renc hi ng. One coul d ba rely refrain from a muzzled ululating tha t are assoc iated with wom en from Eastern Provi nc e. I know , I know , my mbuya ’s must be rol lingt he ir eyes. Tha t is not all the activi ties for the week, the thr ee gr oups went around the com munities to pe rfor m the ir art as pa rt of the ir pr ogr amme to attract the disadva nt age d ki ds and yout h in the com muni ties to a mor e pur pos eful life. We were advi sed tha t during thi s week of July 16, the Artscape The atre Cent re also manage d to adopt one ki d who the y hope to pr ovi de for , thr ough hi s education pr ogr amme. So who is Barefeet? Barefeet is a yout h arts or ga ni sation he adqua rtered in Lusaka , bor n in 2006 com pr ising a team of artists who use the ir va ried ski lls to enga ge with vul ne rabl e chi ldren and the ge neral publ ic, with the sol e pur pos e of br ingi ng about cha nge and hum an deve lopm ent and with the int ent ion of igni ting creative aspi rations in its pa rticipa nt s and a udienc es. The mos t remarka bl e aspe ct of the Barefeet activi ties ot he r tha n as a the atrical or ga ni sation, is the ir wor k with chi ldren and young pe opl e who find themselves in difficult situations . It also aims to create an army of know ledge abl e, ins pi red and empow ered young artists who the n be com e rol e mode ls for ot he r ki ds and yout hs , and aims to spr ead lifesavi ng inf or mation to ot he r young pe opl e and the ge ne ral publ ic thr oughout Zambi a. The ir mos t impa ct ha s be en in wor ki ng to pr ovi de a pl atfor m to reha bi litate street chi ldren in Zambi a int o ki ds and yout h with a pos itive life of pur pos e.

So how doe s Barefeet wor k? It enga ge s in the atre as a tol for deve lopm ent . The pl ayba ck the atre and ps ychos oc ial drama is empl oye d to address the ps ychos oc ial ne eds of chi ldren as a way to gi ve chi ldren a pl atfor m to discuss issues tha t affect the m. Thus thr ough pe rfor manc e and creative ideas, yout hs are enc our age d to enga ge , delibe rate on and deba te va rious topi cs as a way of ena bl ing the m to also advoc ate to the ir pe ers and create cha nge . Thi s organisation has partners in five Zambi an cities of Lusaka , Kitwe, Kabw e, Kaom a and L ivi ngs tone . In terms of the pe rfor manc e at Allianc e Franç aise de Lusaka , Barefeet teamed up with Samba Résille of Franc e and Artscape The atre Cent re troupe of Cape Tow n to create a joi nt pe rfor manc e as pa rt of the pr oj ect “cultural cons truction of yout h and young cons truction of culture” suppor ted by E rasmus+. Erasmus+ is a Europe an Uni on (EU) pr ogr amme with a budge ted pr ogr amme of Euro14.7 bi llion tha t com bi ne s seve n education, traini ng and yout h pr ogr ammes whi ch aims to inc rease learni ng opor tuni ties for student s and t eache rs ove rseas. Samba 5psille, one of the outfit Barefeet pa rtne red with for thi s pr oject was created in 192 in Toul ous e (Franc e), and wor ks with Samba music, as a tol to mix different audienc es and territor ies vi a artistic pr actices. Samba Résille’s activi ties ha ve a pa rticular foc us on show casing Samba conc erts and put ting up educationa l wor ks hops pa rticularly for disadva nt age d gr oups . Samba Résille ha s mode lled its pr ogr ammes around wha t it calls a Schol of Life whi ch it expr esses as fol low s; “learni ng expe rienc es are assessed toge the r, from each ot he r, and whe re membe rs are mot ivated to ge t invol ve d, thr ive , create and realise toge the r.” The ot he r pa rtne r for thi s eve nt was Artscape The atre Cent re troupe from Cape Tow n, whi ch is pa rt of an or ga ni sation created in 1972 by the Western Cape regi ona l gove rnment in Sout h Africa and pr iva tised in2001. Thi s cent re was for merly know n as the Nico Malan The atre Com pl ex na med after a Dr Joha ne s Nicho las Malan, who ini tiated the pr oject. The Artscape The atre Cent re is hom e of Fine Music Radio and also hous es the Cape Phi lha rmoni c Orche stra and the Cape Tow n Ope ra. The se were the thr ee gr oup tha t made Wedne sday, July 18, 2018, a ve ry enj oya bl e day pa rticularly tha t the activi ties tha t Barefeet is enga ge d in, goe s to the cor e of wha t bus ine ss or ga ni sations toda y must seekt opr om ot e. The the atrical pe rfor manc es ot he r tha n as a means to enga ge the yout h is also an inc om e ge ne rating ve nt ure for Barefeet as it seeks to be self-sustaini ng to supl ement on the donor assistanc e tha t it ha s be en receivi ng, for som e of its activi ties. Give n the uni que activi ties and the hum ane pur pos e of the gr oup, the re is scope for bus ine ss hous es to ge t invol ve d and supor t thi s nobl e ge sture pa rticularly tha t thi s or ga ni sation is run on a phi lant hr opi c ba sis by t he pa rtne rs. After witne ssing the ent hus iasm of the pr om ot ers and the pe rfor manc e, one is faced with a que stions around how Barefeet as an or ga ni sation has been able to finance their activi ties thi s far. The ans wer to the que stion raises furthe r que stions , be cause ot he r tha n the multi-lateral ins titutions , the pr iva te sector seem to be cons pi cuous ly abs ent . Cor po rate hous es must seek to be invol ve d be cause thi s is a wor thy pr ogr amme tha t doe s pos itive ly impa ct the disadva nt age d ki ds and yout h. So many or ga ni sations seek avenue s to enga ge in cor por ate soc ial respons ibi lity and Barefeet doe s seem for many reasons to be just the ave nue to actualise thos e aspi rations . In tha t rega rd, it is wor thw hi le to quot e wha t the Villanova Uni ve rsity, a Cathol ic pr iva te research uni ve rsity loc ated in a subur b nor thw est of Phi ladelphi a, Pens ylva ni a ha s said about “cor por ate soc ial respon sibi lity (CSR).” “Busine sses of ten inve st in creating and supor ting the ir br and, as well as in moni tor ing the pe rcept ions he ld by the ir custom ers, empl oye es and the ge ne ral publ ic of the ir br and. A com pa ny’s soc ial respons ibi lity effor ts typi cally factor he avi ly int o the se pe rcept ions . “Cor por ate soc ial respons ibi lity is a com mitment to do mor e tha n just serve the ne eds and expe ctations of custom ers and sha rehol ders. It can also mean goi ng be yond bus ine ss ba sics and servi ng a soc ial ne ed. Thr ough cor por ate soc ial respons ibi lity pr ogr ammes, inc luding respons ibl e bus ine ss pr actices, phi lant hr opy and vol unt eer effor ts, businesses can benefit society while bos tingt he ir br and.” The financial times le[icon defines corporate social responsibility “as a bus ine ss apr oa ch tha t cont ribut es to sustaina bl e deve lop ment by delive ring econom ic, social and environmental benefits for all stake hol ders. CSR is a conc ept with many definitions and practices The way it is unde rstod and impl ement ed may differ gr eatly for each com pa ny a nd c ount ry. Mor eove r, CSR is a ve ry br oa d conc ept tha t addresses many and va rious topi cs such as hum an right s, cor por ate gove rna nc e, he alth and safety, envi ronm ent al effects, wor king condi tions and cont ribut ion to econom ic deve lopm ent . Wha teve r the definition is, the purpose of &S5 is to drive cha nge tow ards sustainabi lity.” As the two earlier quot es elabo rate, the way to lok at CSR is not as a cha ritabl e unde rtaki ng but as a way to be com e a respons ibl e cor po rate citizen. Even more significantly, it is wor th not ing tha t mor e of ten tha n not, profitable companies tend to ha ve strong cor por ate soc ial respon sibi lity pr ogr ammes not just as a way to be god cor por ate citizens , not just as a way to pr om ot e the ir br ands , but be cause the ve ry essenc e of cor por ate soc ial respons ibi lities br ings with it an enha nc ed com pa ny reput ation, a pos itive wor ki ng envi ronm ent tha t will like ly attract va lued empl oye es. The refor e if loke d at be yond the lens of cos t, eve ry company can benefit from such effor ts. Often times, cor por ate or ga ni sations in Zambi a are ke en and active ly seeki ng ways to be invol ve d in cor por ate soc ial respons ibi lity activities, but the moda lities of ten eludes the m, if it is the case, it is wor thw hi le to see how you can be invol ve d with Barefeet. Havi ng not ed thi s, if the re is som ethi ng tha t Barefeet br ings to the tabl e, tha t is mor e com pe lling, it is thi s. The or ga ni sation’ s goa l of using the influence of entertainment to mot iva te, enga ge and trans for m live s is a ve ry pow erful tol to assure the pr ogr amme’s success for a long time, as the y ha ve done for the pa st 22 years. The re is reason tha t a num be r of or ga ni sations such as the EU, UNICEF, UNDP, Allianc e Française, Save the Chi ldren ha ve found rom to supor t the or ga ni sation, and if each one of us is conc erne d by the scour ge of street ki ds and yout h, if each one of us is loki ng for ways to sol ve thi s pr obl em, if eve ryone of us feels the empa thy to be invol ve d, we will not leave it to the donor com muni ty to be the onl y pa rticipa nt s, we will ge t enga ge d as the pr iva te sector . About the author : Kelvi n Chun gu is an Assuranc e and Advi sor y pr of essiona l and is cont actabl e on +260- 97637484.