Sharing our passion, and giving back to the world
One of the key things that helps to drive our teams forward is our passion to help and serve the communities local to us. We pride ourselves on open communication, breaking down barriers in both community and industry, treating everyone with the same values of quality of service and respect.
We feel it is vital to put back into the communities where we operate, this takes many forms from larger formal organisations such as The Princes Trust, through to low key direct action such as shipping clothing to children in Grenada, a life boat to Tortola, play equipment to Bequia, and much needed aid in the aftermath of disasters.
The King's Foundation
His Majesty The King staged a visit to Dumfries House in Ayrshire last week to follow up with a group of students from Antigua as part of The King's Foundation.
Andy and Nicki Thorne also went to catch up with this group of talented students from Antigua , who were funded by Kestrel to fly to the UK in order to join one of the many programmes on the Dumfries Estate in Scotland thanks to the imagination of His Majesty The King.
His Majesty The King’s support of traditional arts & craft by training young people in skills that have been lost in many communities around the world , His Majesty is enabling not only superbly trained young people to head back to Antigua (& throughout the Caribbean) and practice these new found skills but also bringing them skill sets that are relevant to a region that can suffer from power outage due to a variety of reasons. For example after weather damage in case of serious hurricane.
These students were learning the old ways for example to construct roof trusses, without power tools and without nails or screws. They were also learning the fine art of slicing wooden roof shingles by axe. The mixed group includes those trained in engineering , architecture and as well the construction trades. They were extremely privileged to be visited by His Majesty and were able to show him the projects they were working on.
The Estate has been set up to train people in a multitude of traditional building arts and crafts that are not just beautiful but incredibly relevant to today’s modern world. We got to see examples of finished builds that are created by groups of students at the end of their training. One was a stunning circular bird hide snuggled into the woodland.
Other courses include fashion and textiles , farming and rural skills, fine arts and architecture. All set within the stunning grounds of this 18th century stately home set on 2000 acres. Dumfries House is open to the public year round.
To find out more about supporting The King's Foundation and the many courses on office head over to their websites links below.
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust, founded in 1976, is one of the United Kingdom's most successful funding organisations. We at Kestrel never fail to be inspired by their ongoing efforts to uplift the younger generations.
In January 2017, we partnered with the Prince's Trust International, a new International arm launched in 2015, to deliver their 'Get into Logistics' programme. The 'Get into' is an employability scheme in Barbados with the aim of helping disadvantaged young people on the island gain vital sector-specific skills. Our first wave of students on the 'Get into Logistics' programme all graduated with flying colours.
Mark Davidian from Kestrel had the pleasure of giving the participants of 'Get into Logistics' their graduation certificates. He heard first-hand the benefits of the programme to the young people involved.
I was very honoured to attend the Prince's Trust International Event and to meet this first wave of students – an inspiring group of enthusiastic, energetic young people looking to find a start and hopefully building a career in logistics. As the future of their industry they need to be given a chance. The benefits from this programme are already being realised in Barbados and we look forward to seeing the programme expand across the Caribbean region.
Mark Davidian
One of the biggest success stories of the 'Get into Logistics' programme was our trainee Orian. We were so impressed with her commitment and enthusiasm, we offered her a job in our offices in Barbados. We're pleased to report that she accepted, saying:
Six weeks ago I knew nothing about shipping! In five weeks I have learnt so much. I am looking forward to finding out so much more about the shipping and logistics industry. I am particularly looking forward to seeing a product on the shelves in Barbados knowing that I played a part in importing it.
We have also had the pleasure of working with the Prince's Trust International to sponsor their very successful 'Get into Hospitality' programme. This is an intensive 12-week programme which supports 15 young people who are not yet ready to enter employment and works with them to develop not only their confidence but also other key skills they will require through a residential week, community project and work placements. This programme also boasts a high degree of success with helping young people to find opportunities within the hospitality industry.
Here at Kestrel, we owe our success to the many different communities around the globe, so we are proud to support those who support us. We remain aware of the many different issues that these communities face, and are eager to help them however we can as it is part of the Mission Statement that Kestrel is built upon.