IDC employee Elvis Stravens was among 10 young males and 13 men to receive the Men’s Award 2016, an award honours male employees with exemplary behaviour and qualities. This was the 3rd such ceremony organised by the National Family Council of Seychelles. All the 10 winners in the young male category, as well as all the 13 men, were rewarded with a shield and certificate. Mr. Elvis Stravens was nominated as IDC’s candidate for the award after he braved cyclone Fantala, which struck the island of Farquhar in April 2016; he led the team that remained on the island for the initial clean up exercise which followed in order to allow the plane to land on the island. Fantala struck the island of Farquhar three times, destroying buildings and vegetation. Mr. Stravens joined IDC in July 1991 as an accounts clerk; the exposure which defined his career with IDC came in 1994 when he was posted to Silhouette to replace the accounts officer there. While on Silhouette he fulfilled the duties of assistant island manager and that of manager, and Mr. Stravens was eventually sent to Alphonse as a relief manager for a period of two weeks, but ended up spending two months there. Today Mr. Stravens is the Islands Operation Manager, responsible for five islands, namely Alphonse, Astove, Desrochess, Farquhar and Platte. Whilst thanking IDC staff for nominating him for the award, Mr. Stravens said: “It has always been a pleasure working and sharing my knowledge with you. I have worn many hats throughout my career and have never asked for anything more. My only wish is to see IDC stand tall against all odds. Loyalty, honesty, compassion, humility, discipline and friendliness are the values that I share with you.” The Men’s Award presentation ceremony was held on the 26th November 2016, where David Boniface, from Plaisance Secondary School, won the Outstanding Young Male Role Model Award, and the Outstanding Male Role Model Award was won by Jude Raoul, a captain and deputy commander at the Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA).

Marine debris washing ashore is a never-ending issue that affects all beaches of Seychelles. Since July 2016 IDC, ICS and Desroches Island Development Limited (DIDL) have joined forces to clean beaches with as many as 40 staff volunteering for this exercise. After three months,  enough recycling to fill a freight barge have been collected for return to Mahe. At Mahe, PET bottles are put through a flaking machine for export to India to be recycled into new PET bottles or used to make other product such as sports clothing. Aluminum drinks cans are crushed into bales and also exported to India where they are melted to make new drink cans or other aluminum products. At Desroches no fewer that 3,450 PET bottles and aluminum drink cans were collected in the latest effort with funds raised donated to  the Seychelles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals