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Prior to retirement my wife and I met with a VicSuper representative to discuss our options. Despite the fact that some of the concepts and strategies can appear complex at first, things were explained to us in a way that was really simple and easy to understand, which helped us feel comfortable with the decisions we made.

Ken and Linda
VicSuper members

Pencil Project

The Pencil Project Pencil Project

What is the Pencil Project?

Of the 6.6 million children in Zimbabwe, over 45% are currently living in poverty, with the prevalence of HIV/AIDS a significant contributor to this situation. Over 20% of Zimbabwe's adult population is infected by the virus, and education is the key to breaking the cycle of disease and poverty.

One of the barriers preventing these children from learning is the absence of something to write with. It is difficult for us to comprehend a situation where a child cannot access a pencil yet this is the reality facing many of the children in Zimbabwe. This is where the Pencil Project comes in.

With the tremendous support of the VicSuper community, we have collected well over 1 million new and used pencils, crayons and chalk for shipment to Zimbabwe. This exceeds our target figure of 900,000 items which represents the number of school-registered children in Victoria, essentially equaling a gift from the children of Victoria to the children of Zimbabwe. In this way, we regard the project as each child currently being educated in Victoria helping to educate a child in Zimbabwe.

Now that the pencils have been collected, sorted and packed by VicSuper, Rotary District 9810 (our partner in this project) are transporting them to Zimbabwe via sea freight. See below for details on Rotary.

The Pencil Project drawing and essay competitions

As part of the Pencil Project, VicSuper held drawing and essay competitions for schools and kindergartens, including special needs schools and language schools and centres. View the competition winners here.

Why is VicSuper involved?

We take our responsibility to the broader community - both local and global - very seriously and we constantly look for ways we can assist. We carefully consider projects to ensure that they align with our values and objectives, and that there is no detrimental impact on our members or our core business.

Education is central to The Pencil Project and is also central to VicSuper. We strongly believe in educating our members about superannuation so that they can make the best decisions for their own situation. The same theory applies elsewhere; education gives people the ability to make choices. We believe this project's objective is one that our members and employers would regard as beneficial.

We also valued the relative simplicity of The Pencil Project's objective. It is a project that is within reach of almost all in the community, as it doesn't require significant commitments of time or money. Many people have a few superfluous pencils, crayons or chalk floating around in drawers or playboxes.

What is Rotary?

VicSuper is running the Pencil Project in conjunction with Rotary District 9810.

Rotary is a worldwide organisation of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs worldwide.

Rotary is non-political and non-religious. Australia's District 9810 is located in Victoria's south-east and consists of 53 clubs and almost 1,500 Rotarians.

Rotary has a long-standing focus on literacy. It originally raised the possibility of collecting books or providing paper rather than pencils, however it became clear that education for the children of Zimbabwe is hampered by a lack of the most basic tool - something to write with.

 

 

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