Educating the next generation in Vietnam 

At a fun-filled fundraising event at Suoi Tien Park auditorium in Vietnam in early-August, Cargill raised U.S. $230,000 to support its school building initiative in less privileged rural communities across the country. Contributions came from the more than 4,000 customers, dealers, partners and colleagues present.

Since Cargill started operations in Vietnam 20 years ago, the company has raised more than U.S. $3.8 million and has built 74 schools in the country. There are currently 12,000 children in Vietnam benefiting from Cargill’s school building initiative. Cargill is committed to opening two more schools by the end of 2015 and to improve the conditions of the older schools.

“2015 marks two important milestones for us as we enter our third decade of business in Vietnam and celebrate our company’s 150th anniversary,” said Chanh Truong, country representative for Cargill Vietnam. “One of Cargill’s commitments is to give back to the communities we work in and we couldn’t be more proud to be contributing to the education of the younger Vietnamese generation. A big kudos and thank you to our Cargill team in Vietnam who made this all possible.”

Fundraising activities are organized strictly through volunteering efforts of Cargill employees in Vietnam. This year’s event took 450 hour of volunteer time. The employees also take on the responsibility of ensuring that the schools are properly built, maintained and regularly inspected by devoting time working with architects, license departments, local government representatives, and construction companies. It typically takes one year to plan and complete the construction of a school.