More than just a trip: a week of collaboration, corporate volunteering, sharing, and team building.
Employees from Sacchi Elettroforniture recently took part in a meaningful and transformative experience: supporting the training of 80 young students and meeting some of the 356 children the company sponsors through long-distance support program.
In late March, ten employees from the company travelled with AVSI to Nairobi, Kenya, to conduct an in-person session of an electrician training course at the San Kizito Vocational School. The first session had been held online a few months earlier. Specifically designed for young people from Nairobi’s slums—often excluded from formal and costly education—this hands-on training program is a tangible example of effective collaboration between the private sector and non-profit organizations.
The employees led two classroom sessions. Marco Annoni, Morena Cattaruzza, Giulia Colombo, Edoardo Cornaggia, Linda Ghisio, Alberto Mallia, Marco Meldini, Cristina M. Proserpio, Daniela Ventura and Elena Viganò shared their professional expertise in lighting technology, electronics, workplace safety, and solar energy. The 80 students responded with remarkable enthusiasm and gratitude, having learned many practical skills for their future.
“I’m truly thankful for this experience. It’s hard to describe the emotion you feel when you see the eyes and smiles of these young people,” said Marco Annoni, Technical Specialist at Sacchi. “What AVSI does for these communities is truly invaluable.”
“What amazed us was the joy with which we were greeted by the teachers and the hunger for knowledge of the students,” added Marco Meldini, Technical Manager at Sacchi. “Meeting these young people in the classroom made us realize how important this exchange of skills was for them. This trip was not only physical, but also emotional: we received much more than what we gave.”
In addition to the classes at San Kizito, the team visited the Little Prince Primary School and other educational, healthcare, and social centers supported by AVSI in and around Nairobi.
Since 2021, through its distance support program, Sacchi Elettroforniture has been sponsoring 356 children across several countries—30 of them in Kenya. During the mission, the team had the unique opportunity to meet some of these children and their families, creating unforgettable moments of human connection and mutual growth.
A collaboration where people come first
The partnership between AVSI and Sacchi Elettroforniture is a story of shared commitment that goes far beyond traditional corporate social responsibility. It is an authentic relationship, built on shared values and a concrete vision of solidarity and development.
Since 2005, thanks to the Distance Support program, this collaboration has helped more and more children grow: from the first 160 sponsored children to 356 by 2021. A journey that tells not only numbers, but stories, faces, and real change.
After last year’s mission in Uganda, Sacchi wanted to offer another extraordinary opportunity in 2025: to allow employees to meet in person the students they had previously interacted with online, and to get to know the children they had been supporting from afar.
“It was an experience that strengthened a relationship of mutual trust,” said Livia Morosini, Head of AVSI's Corporate and Major Donors department. “Our partner’s full commitment to designing a training course tailored to the real needs of the beneficiaries was crucial. The employees were not mere spectators: they actively participated by giving lectures, answering students’ questions, and meeting the sponsored children. It was also an experience that strengthened their sense of belonging to the company.”
A virtuous example of how collaboration between businesses and third-sector organizations can create value for all: for the beneficiaries, the employees, and the company itself.
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