The Global Rainbow Foundation
I discovered the Global Rainbow Foundation (GRF) while making enquiries on social media about organizations in Mauritius which are helping disadvantaged people on the island.
Beejaye Ramchurn, an old friend and lecturer of mine from 2007 contacted me to let me know about GRF.
On introduction it became clear that GRF sounded like an eligible organization for me to dig deeper into and understand how they operate.
Extract from GRF website explaining their purpose and emergence:
Global Rainbow Foundation was founded by Prof. Armoogum Parsuramen on 11 November 2011, with the aim of empowering differently abled persons and vulnerable groups through education and training, and to provide them with the opportunity for holistic human development so that they can lead a happy and rewarding life with dignity and respect in the local and global community. To this end, the GRF provides them assistance, works for their empowerment, integration and respect for their fundamental rights, guarantees them equitable employment opportunities and encourages them to strengthen their self-esteem. Its role also consists of organizing awareness-raising activities and campaigns aimed at changing attitudes, mentalities and stereotypical perceptions towards people with disabilities.
The activities of the organisation are oriented towards educating, enabling, and empowering Persons with Disabilities.
You can learn more about their vision and founder here.
On the 15th of April 2022, I went to visit the Global Rainbow Foundation headquarters which is situated in Petit Raffray in the North of Mauritius. They do have regional offices all around the island as well as on Rodrigues island so that they can better serve those who need help.
Soon after arriving it became evidently clear that GRF was doing a lot more than what I had imagined.
With that in-mind I do hope I can do some justice in explaining what they do and how they do it.
It’s worth noting that I did video document most of my time on-site where Beejaye had given me a tour of their facility and its operations.
The video can be seen below.
Please note that I acknowledge that I am not a professional vlogger or YouTuber so do need to improve various aspects of my videoing and post production. Nevertheless it should suffice in bringing a little more light on GRF and help solidify the points made in this blog.
Our tour begins in the Jaipur Foot workshop which is a low-cost manufacturer of prosthesis and orthosis for people with amputation or deformities. (physical disabilities)
Here I got to see the equipment used to manufacture prosthetics and meet some of the staff who make it happen.
This workshop has provided around 2,500 prosthetics to amputees around the island to date so far!
They also do maintenance on wheelchairs and prosthesis.
Shortly after the workshop tour Beejaye showed me their mobile truck workshop!
This truck workshop has been equipped to do all what the main workshop does and go to where it is needed in various parts of Mauritius which are more underprivileged and in some cases people may not be able to travel for various reasons.
When the truck workshop heads out to create a temporary medical camp, it goes with a full team which includes technicians, medical staff, psychologists and sometimes lawyers.
It was clear that GRF well recognizes the value in collaboration and partnerships as they have quite a few in the public and private sector which help them help those in need.
Three of which I am aware of are the European Union, Indian Oil and the University of Technology (of Mauritius).
It is only by collaborating with other organizations that these humanitarian initiatives can be fueled to uplift the disadvantaged.
Also worth noting that GRF is already well accustomed to providing reports with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) so that all funds are spent with care and a focus to drive maximum value on the ground.
Besides what the GRF is accustomed to doing in terms of reporting, when I manage to get funds which are then to be donated to GRF, I would still create my own reports and video content to show and quantify the value which the money delivers.
After concluding the tour of the Jaipur Foot workshop and mobile truck workshop we headed to their main medical facility which is the Rehabilitation & Training Centre for people with disabilities.
This facility offers;
- Medical Consultations
- Occupational Therapy
- Psychological Consultation
- Physiotherapy
- Paediatric Occupational Therapy
- Multi Sensory Room
- Speech Therapy
- Club foot treatment
- Diabetic foot Clinic
A brief look below at some of the quantified KPIs of the last 3 years for the Rehabilitation & Training Centre.
After the tour of the medical facility Beejaye showed me their studio which was built in-house and is used for various types of programs that they do online which are largely focused on advocating for rights of the disabled and underprivileged.
We then proceeded to the large training and meeting room upstairs which then lead onto the balcony where I learnt of their plans to build a hydro-therapy pool in the back garden.
The hydro-therapy pool is to become operational in 2023.
While I was impressed about all that they’re currently doing I was excited to learn about how they’re positioning themselves to grow and help more people. The hydro-therapy pool is a good example and I believe will become an invaluable facility for the GRF.
I intend to create more content on GRF in the weeks and months to come. (blogs and videos) That includes meeting the founder and president of GRF, Prof Armoogum Parsuramen in early May to establish some potential projects/initiatives that we could fund once I manage to sell one of 3 NFTs representing physical art. (Though more physical art to be created soon)
The objective here is to bring light to the Global Rainbow Foundation and build trust between myself, stakeholders and prospective art buyers who want to drive positive change for people who really need it.
Once money is donated to any organization, that would not be the end of this story either!
That’s really where the journey really starts to get interesting and we will see how lives are impacted directly from the sale of art.
(videos and blogs to document everything)
If this project resonates with you on any level, grateful if you could share the original post on social media that brought you here.
Video of site visit can be seen here
If this story & project resonates with/interests you, please consider sharing the original social media post that brought you here and following us:
Global Rainbow Foundation on LinkedIn
Dr. Armoogum Parsuramen on LinkedIn
Vince on LinkedIn
Key Collaborators on LinkedIn
Vince on Twitter
Chronological list of the blogs about this NFT project:
- NFTs — We can do better and my take on it
- You’re currently reading #2 here on this page
- JA Mascareignes
- MoU signed with GRF
- GRF Mobile Medical Camp
