NSSF social venture to focus on health, education

NSSF will strategically restrict its social investment grants to sustainable community development initiatives/FILE

As part of the fund’s transformation project, NSSF will strategically restrict its social investment grants to sustainable community development initiatives.

Speaking at the SOS Children’s Village in Kisumu, NSSF Managing Trustee Tom Odongo explained that the fund’s focus on the two key sectors is geared at ensuring optimum use of corporate social investment (CSI) funds.

Ahead of the scheduled plans to convert NSSF into a national pensions fund to provide comprehensive social protection cover for all Kenyans, the fund has now stepped up its corporate social investments approach as part of the on-going transformation efforts.

The fund’s transformation process, Odongo explained, now incorporates staff involvement in its core CSI programmes.

Through a Sh3.6 million social investment programme at the SOS Village in Kisumu, NSSF has adopted two houses catering for 20 orphaned and homeless children. With the corporate adoption, NSSF Kisumu members of staff have volunteered to provide constant mentorship and social support to children at the two family based care houses.

“Within the wider NSSF transformation, we have revised the corporate social investment policy to reflect our commitment to support projects that carry a sustainable community development perspective,” Odongo said.

“Our commitment is therefore set on supporting health and education related projects which will allow us to maximise the value of our social investment budget and allow for NSSF staff involvement.”

NSSF’s CSI initiatives, Odongo further said, will be rolled out in tandem with on-going service delivery improvement programmes across the funds 47 branches countrywide.

The fund recently received an ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and is currently undertaking a comprehensive corporate improvement process.

The process involves integrating a new Information technology system to boost efficiency across all the core divisions.

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JUDIE KABERIA

Judie, an Associate Editor has worked as a journalist in Kenya and Germany. She has a Master’s Degree in New Media, Governance and Democracy, University of Leicester (U.K). She has scooped 10 journalistic awards. She has participated in international conferences in Germany, Switzerland, United States and Netherlands. Judie has written a booklet, ‘Justice and Peace in the Kenyan Eye’. She has a soft spot for human rights, crime, peace and justice stories.

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