The Spanish multinational, which collaborates with the NGO Malayaka House, is financing an oven and an industrial mixer with the sales of the Spanish traditional Christmas pastry ‘Roscon de Reyes’. This initiative is part of the company’s CSR policy.
Europastry, the leading Spanish company in the production and marketing of par-baked bread and ultra-frozen pastries, is driving a charity project aimed at the most impoverished children of Uganda to train them in bread making and contributing to their self-sufficiency, also fostering their incorporation into the labour market. In collaboration -for the second consecutive year- with the NGO Malayaka House, the Spanish multinational will provide an oven, an industrial mixer and an electricity generator for the training programme the organisation undertakes in Lunyo, an area of the African country with a high level of poverty. Europastry, which also advises the NGO, finances the machinery with part of the sales from the Roscón de Reyes, a product which is firmly embedded in Spanish culture and consumed over the Christmas festive days.
This initiative is encompassed within the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and is an example of its commitment to society and to the most impoverished people. “The needs in Uganda, as with other African countries, are so urgent and necessary that any help can contribute to improving the quality of life of thousands of people. Europastry has chosen this charity training project for its close relationship to the company’s activity and the experience it can provide. Europastry considers CSR from a global point of view and for this reason is involved in social activities such as this, which is undertaken in an area of extreme poverty”, says Jordi Gallés, president of the company.
The bread-making course, which commenced in July, is now bearing fruit. The small production of bread made by the students is now being sold in supermarkets, fuel stations and restaurants in the area. The income generated from sales is spent on purchasing raw materials in order to continue the activity and pay the girls’ salaries. The training programme also teaches the girls to manage their own money and to be responsible for the economy with the aim of fostering their independence.
Malayaka House is an NGO founded in 2006 which develops its activity in Uganda and which is committed to supporting children in critical situations in areas in which poverty and racial tensions are rife. It has a shelter in Lunyo which has improved the lives of more than 300 children.
The objective of the Europastry Roscón de Reyes charity is to continue contributing to improving the conditions of the lives of these children. For this reason, and so that people who wish to collaborate on the co-operation campaign can participate, an identifying seal has been designed that highlights the charity nature of the Roscón de Reyes and a web site has been created (www.rosconsolidario.com) so that visitors can follow the development of the project and its advances.
Committed to the environment
Europastry is a company that is committed to the most impoverished people and also to the preservation of the environment, which is why last year the Spanish multinational participated in another project in Uganda and in Mali to combat desertification. In collaboration with the NGO Sol Solidari, 20 solar cookers and ovens were distributed to families in the village of Isalo (Uganda) and 600 family cookers and 120 school cookers were subsidised in Mali.
There is no electricity or gas supply in the rural communities in these countries and the people depend on firewood for cooking, which is collected particularly by women, who walk many kilometres every day to retrieve it. The solar cooking method eases the abusive felling of trees for firewood, which causes desertification and soil erosion, conditions which in turn accentuate poverty and hinder human development. Additionally, cooking with firewood, often inside the homes, causes serious vision problems and increases the incidence of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.