The Center for Social Responsibility and Accountability held a small focus group meeting at the Merica Hotel in Nakuru. The meeting was moderated by Alexandria Mumbauer, CESRA’s CSR Manager, and was attended by Mr. Peter Hickman of FMD East Africa Ltd., Mr. Kasio Mutuku of the Post Office Savings Bank, and Ms. Georgina Methui of Kenya Commercial Bank.
The purpose of the meeting was to bring together members of Nakuru’s business community to discuss Corporate Social Responsibility and what services CESRA can and should provide to our corporate members.
Attendees raised several concerns regarding CSR practices in Kenya at the moment. Because of time constraints, many companies do not have the opportunity to make follow-up visits to the organizations and charities they make donations to. Unfortunately, this means there is no guarantee that donations are being used properly and going to the projects they were intended for. Mr Mutuku of Post bank was pleased and noted that CESRA would be the only way corporate companies and other donors would consult to make sure that their donated shillings goes to the right projects.
Ms. Methui of KCB also added the following comments “This project by CESRA is viable since it is closely associated and well-acquainted with all member charitable organization and they can do the follow-up on our behalf, from visiting projects on the ground to generating reports detailing the implementation of CSR donations.
Another concern that was raised dealt with getting donor funds to those who need it most. It’s difficult for companies to find out if the organization or charity they’re donating to has been the recipient of similar CSR funds from other companies.
Pastor Morris Oduor CESRA’s coordinator reminded them that through CESRA’s member charitable organizations display their accountability reports on our website, which are available for all to see on the website, companies can find out which organizations have received donations recently and which organizations are in need. Additionally, CESRA will work personally with company representatives to advise them on how to select projects that most need funding and meet the company’s CSR goals.
Other topics of discussion included employee involvement and awareness of CSR programs, watching out for “briefcase NGOs,” and the many benefits of joining a membership organization like CESRA.
The meeting was quite informative, and we would like to sincerely thank all of our attendees for their contributions to our discussion.
The next Focus group was scheduled for Wednesday 25th 2009.
If your company would like to join us for this focus group or future focus group please contact Ms. Alexandria at Alexandria@csrkenya.org or call her directly at 0710264618.
www.csrkenya.org
