Restoration of a sailing ship by disadvantaged youths

"All the people I met during my visits to the site seemed to me to be reliable, sincere and competent. This project meets the major guidelines of the Foundation."

Alain Chikhoune

The Association pour la Formation et l'Aide au Développement des Entreprises (ARFADE) plans to employ six youths from the Local Mission of Marseille in order to restore a small wooden sailing cruise ship. The goal? To help them return to professional life while making them discover the pleasures of the sea.

To repair the vessel, which is a Muscadet boat 6.5 meters long, the youths are supervised by a ship's carpenter and a technical integration staff member. This six-month project, carried out in the association's workyard located in the premises of the French National School of the Merchant Marine, will also help to enhance the environmental awareness of the employees.

A new challenge

After a first project completed, involving the yawl Massalia, which received the special prize of the jury of "Défi jeunes marins" in 1999 and 2000, ARFADE is plunging into a new project.

Once the "new" sailing ship, which can accommodate four persons, is repaired and relaunched, it will be used for trips out to sea. Here also, the idea is to share a maritime experience with these youths. In order to meet this challenge adequately, ARFADE has requested the Veolia Foundation to participate in the acquisition of the equipment and supplies necessary for this project.