Supporting cotton growing communities

The political and economic circumstances of many of the countries in Southern Africa are challenging. Cargill’s operations have provided much needed economic and community investment, especially in rural areas where access to basic infrastructure is limited. Our investment, support and the active participation of our employee volunteers are delivering real benefits to local communities.

Safe drinking water program

Many of the regions within our cotton communities have poor or limited access to safe drinking water. In response, we are building fresh water wells in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi – each serving communities of up to 200 people – and have plans to build more wells to provide a safe, clean water supply.

School building and educational projects

Our support is helping build new schools and classrooms in rural cotton growing communities where these much needed facilities are enabling local children to have better access to education. We are building new schools and classrooms for local communities in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as providing books, stationery, school supplies and support to teachers and students at agricultural schools in Malawi. We have also supported a school for mentally disabled children in Zimbabwe by providing a bus to transport children to and from the school, refurbishing the playground, building a water well, and establishing a vegetable garden and chicken run to help the school generate more income.

Community development projects

With the help of employee volunteers in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya we have supported activities, which are helping improve local, rural communities. These activities include constructing a grinding mill to increase income generation opportunities in the community, building playgrounds for local children, supporting orphanages and refurbishing schools. In Malawi, we are supporting Hope Village, an organization set up to provide a comprehensive orphan care program in the Shire district, where there are relatively few similar projects. Cargill’s support for Hope Village will secure their school feeding program and day care support initiative for a year. In Kenya, we have supported the Kenya Red Cross’ emergency relief services efforts.

HIV/AIDS awareness programs

Effectively managing HIV/AIDS and how it impacts our employees and the communities where we operate is essential to the way we work. Our health education programs for all employees in Southern Africa – in partnership with local health authorities – provide information about HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Programs communicate how the diseases are spread, how to prevent infections and  how to change behaviors. Employees can also access counseling, voluntary testing and free condoms. In Côte d'Ivoire, we are working with industry partners to sponsor a HIV/AIDS awareness program run by the Aga Khan Development Network, which is holding educational workshops and open days in cotton farming communities in an effort to halt the growing infection rate in the country.

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