Learners and local communities are in for a treat with the launch of the Infiniti Insurance new book ‘The Giving Bowl’. But there is more than just a ‘treat’ in the brightly illustrated children’s story – there is a wonderful lesson aimed at broadening life’s lessons.
The Giving Bowl is a collaborative initiative between Infiniti Insurance, author Christina Castle (of Foord Asset Management) and illustrator Carla Kreuser, that will see the publication distributed to schools through the commitment of the parties to teaching children the principles of insurance at an early age.
Christina, an Australian by birth, adopted South Africa as her home 28 years ago. She started her career as a copywriter and had always wanted to write children’s books – the focus of her passion. “The Giving Bowl is the result of teamwork with my illustrator Carla Kreuser, editor Nicola Rijsdijk, and Infiniti’s Project Coordinator Geraldine Aves, as a gift to South African junior school learners. We spent a lot of time developing the concept as a life skills lesson of this nature demands the highest integrity in the light of its young audience,” she points out.
The book uses the analogy of animals to bring out the lesson of collaboratively putting money aside to use in the event of a catastrophe – as experienced by one of the characters. This of course is the basis of insurance – the pooling of resources to pay for events that are insured. An example would be your home being damaged by storm as Loerie (in the book) experienced.
“So, you see, Loerie,” said Pangolin with a smile, “you’ve added to the giving bowl. Now it’s time for you to receive from it and build your home . . .
The story line is suitable for children as young as four but will find its main audience among early readers and those up to nine years old. This book is not just another piece of marketing material but first and foremost a children’s book. We worked closely with Infiniti to incorporate the company’s colours with both parties being sensitive to the basic theme of the story.
Chief Executive Officer of Infiniti Insurance Sharon Paterson says that The Giving Bowl project is part of a broad-based approach to contributing to financial education, and education in general, in South Africa. “We understand that our role as responsible non-life insurers is to provide the quality partnership and insurance solutions our stakeholders need and deserve. And, in doing so, we acknowledge our commitment to the ongoing education about our industry to the communities we serve. In this instance we have used The Giving Bowl as a metaphor for insurance. Many people in South Africa don’t insure because they simply don’t know the benefits of doing so. Sharon concludes “I’m exceptionally proud of this milestone achievement for Infiniti as it speaks to our constant innovation within our Industry – and I am also exceedingly proud of the team that produced it – well done ladies.”
Infiniti Insurance Limited is an A-(ZA)-rated non-life insurer that writes all classes of business including Aviation, Engineering, Guarantees, Heavy Commercial Vehicles, Liability, Marine and Watercraft. The Infiniti advantage lies in the quality of our service and our commitment to excellence.