Valmet's seasonal donation helps drought victims in Africa

Mar 7, 2016

At the end of 2015, Valmet donated in total EUR 18,000 to three global humanitarian and conservation organizations: Save the Children, WWF and UN Women as part of its Seasonal Donation. Valmet's employees around the world voted actively for the donation targets, and most of the votes went to Save the Children. The organization works for global campaigns to improve children's rights.

Now, two months after, we got to hear the good news from Africa about how the donated money has been turned into concrete actions. ​

Baby Thomas received nutrition treatment in health unit in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is currently in the grip of the worst drought in 50 years. 10 million people are entirely reliant on emergency food aid. One of them is Meron, a mother of four children.

“We had almost one hundred goats before the drought, but now we have just five left. We currently have no food, not even fruits."

In the regions worst hit by the drought children are living in the middle of the humanitarian crisis, which has many effects on their lives and development. Children with malnutrition have also weakened immunity towards the most common diseases. Meron brought her baby to Save the Children's Health Unit in Mender in the end of January as he started to get symptons of malnutrition.

“My son Thomas started feeling sick two weeks ago. We came here for treatment, to get medications and plumpynyt (nutritious nut-based paste). When we came he had lots of different problems: he was vomiting, had a fever and diarrhea, and he had also lost his appetite and refused breast feeding. He is improving slightly now.”

Support for local communities

In 2015, Valmet spent EUR 0.6 million on selected projects around the world. Valmet’s sponsorships and donations focus on science, research, education, environmental protection, nature conservation and youth activities. In the spirit of the holiday season, Valmet arranged the seasonal donation campaign for the second time in 2015 to support the communities around it.