The Centella Asiatica Project
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The Centella Asiatica Project
The Centella asiatica Project “École pour tous” in Madagascar started in October 2015 in the Alaotra-Mangoro region in Madagascar, where most of the Centella asiatica processed by Indena is harvested.
We partnered with the Italian NGO RTM – Volontari nel Mondo, and worked in cooperation with its local supplier. The project won the CPhI Award for Excellence in Pharma: Corporate Social Responsibility in 2016.
Goals
- Improve living conditions and decrease poverty in local communities involved in collecting Centella;
- Promote higher-quality education;
- Increase attendance rates among children.
Phase 1
Actions
- Provide school kits and teaching materials, every year, to almost 3,000 children and 84 teachers in 10 elementary schools;
- Organize teachers’ didactic and linguistic training;
- Build toilets and water wells or pipelines to provide clean water;
- Renovate and maintain the school buildings
Main results
- Attendance rate in participating schools reached 90%, compared to 80% in the rest of the country;
- Children’s enrollment increased +10.67% compared to the previous year (+34% for 1st grade);
- School literacy rates and exam results improved;
- Teacher motivation increased.
Phase 2
Actions
The project entered its second phase in April 2020: our local partners asked for our support, through a new special initiative, to limit the risk of Covid-19 mass contamination in such a deprived area.
- Provide 356 5th-grade students with a kit composed of 2 washable masks and soap;
- Equip each school in the program with water tanks and soap, to guarantee hand-washing and basic standards of hygiene.
Add-on: the parents schools
Furthermore, the Parents Schools project was launched in all 10 participating schools, to raise awareness about the importance of children’s schooling.
To get started, 21 educators trained 200 parents on a weekly basis. Due to the Covid-19 emergency, this activity is on standby and will resume as soon as health conditions allow.
Centella asiatica
Wide scientific literature described the pharmacological properties of Centella asiatica’s extracts mainly due to its saponins. These plant actives are particularly used in skin care and cosmetic preparations, for their improving effect in healing processes of wound, burns, skin and vein ulcers.
Centevita®
In the skin, oxidation of lipids can damage cellular structures and induce impaired skin properties. Indena's purified extract Centevita® from Centella asiatica, has been reported to significantly support the skin antioxidant capacity.
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