BIC, a world leader in stationery, lighters, and shavers, recently commemorated Global Education Week in Nairobi, Kenya.

The company worked with Mwiki Primary School in Githurai to renovate school facilities and create an inspirational learning environment in the aim of enhancing school conditions and creating a more enjoyable learning journey for students.

Global Education Week is celebrated by BIC in November every year to inspire and support diverse educational initiatives across the communities in which it operates.

Throughout this period, BIC team members volunteered to give back to their communities whilst also impacting the education sector– one of the key commitments at BIC.

Commenting on the occasion, Paloma Lengema, General Manager at BIC East Africa, said: “We are a responsible corporate citizen and a global stationery leader. It is our responsibility to support the communities in which we operate. Our commitment to education is evident through initiatives we run across the year."

Adding" In Africa, our approach to education is holistic; where we equip students with the necessary writing tools to achieve academic performance, renovate school facilities to create inspiring learning environments, unleash youth’s creativity outside of the classroom through our flagship program, Art Master Africa, and finally support students as they enter the workforce through various programs including our previous partnership with Enactus.”

Mr. Peter Muriithi, Head teacher at Mwiki Primary School, expressed her gratitude, saying: “Our students were ecstatic to see the renovated classrooms and school facilities. This has a tremendous impact on students wanting to be in school and their commitment to education.”

In its fifth edition, Global Education Week has impacted thousands of students and teachers.

This stems from the company’s commitment to improve learning conditions for 250 million students by the year 2025, as part of its sustainable development program, Writing the Future Together.

To date, BIC has impacted around 200 million students. During Global Education Week, teachers are also offered Creativity Educator’s Guide, created by BIC’s philanthropic arm, The BIC Foundation. The Guide aims to act as a toolkit for teachers to help them incorporate creativity into their curriculum, inspiring self-expression in the classroom.  

BIC Kenya runs numerous education initiatives throughout the year.

One of the most remarkable is Express Myself with My BIC Pen;  a penmanship program that supports students as they transition from using graphite pencils to pens, as well as encouraging them to express themselves through writing and drawing.

The initiative which aims to donate a pen to a child in need for every BIC pen sold, Buy Me and BIC Will Donate a Pen, has also been running in Kenya since 2020 with over 1.5 million students impacted to date.