AREA makes tangible commitment to helping families integrate
Anaïs, a VINCI Energies employee, recently moved to Nantes in western France. By mentoring the AREA organisation, she has the opportunity to meet people with different backgrounds who enrich her new daily life.
AREA is the first organisation in France to provide support for non-French-speaking families who have just arrived in the country. It works to ensure equal opportunities through initiatives that help children to learn French and succeed at school. Volunteers also organise cultural outings as well as guidance services and help with finding internships and training programmes.
AREA was founded in January 2021 in Nantes by a former French teacher in Syria who, on arriving in France, went through the experience of integrating into a country she didn’t know, while concerned about the future of her children. She quickly realised she wasn’t the only one in this situation and so she decided to throw herself into this charitable project.
Anaïs Dekhrili, assistant project manager at Axians Cloud Builder Nantes, is committed to supporting the Syrian teacher’s project. She decided to establish a link between AREA and the Fondation VINCI pour la Cité, by becoming a mentor for the organisation:
My aim is to help these families by adapting to the organisation’s needs. The Fondation VINCI has offered a cheque which will enable AREA to grow. But it’s not just financial support! The Foundation also provides a network for charitable projects thanks to the involvement and assistance of VINCI staff.
Anaïs seeks to make herself available to the organisation as much as possible:
“Of course, everyone is pretty busy. But at VINCI Energies, you have the option to combine work and support activities, and to take some time for yourself and for others. You always find a charity that means something to you! And when the motivation is there, you go for it.”
Find out more about the support initiatives driven by VINCI Energies