Disaster relief fund commitment to China
The Tetra Laval Group announced today the completed allocation of its USD 15 million Disaster Relief Fund to aid the recovery effort from last year’s devastating earthquake in China.
Deyang, Sichuan, P. R. China
The Tetra Laval Group, the parent company of Tetra Pak, the world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions provider, announced today the completed allocation of its USD 15 million Disaster Relief Fund to aid the recovery effort from last year’s devastating earthquake in China.
The announcement came at the official kick off today in Deyang, Sichuan Province of the Tetra Laval School Assistance Program. As the Group’s latest and final post-reconstruction project, the program will be implemented in cooperation with the China Children and Teenagers' Foundation (CCTF), a renowned Chinese non-governmental organization. The RMB 20 million (or USD 2.8 million) program will assist 10,000 high school students in the disaster areas in completing their high school education and continuing their studies.
The School Assistance Program marked the full allotment of funds for projects sponsored by the Tetra Laval Disaster Relief Fund. Most of these projects have been implemented in partnership with various government and non-government institutions in China.
The Tetra Laval Group Board announced the Disaster Relief Fund on May 22, 2008 to support emergency efforts and facilitate post-quake reconstruction initiatives in China. Immediately after the earthquake, Tetra Pak, one of Tetra Laval’s three independent groups, quickly joined the relief efforts and provided timely disaster impact updates to the Group Board.
“I was in China for a meeting only a couple of days after the earthquake struck last year, and I witnessed the solidarity, courage and determination of the Chinese people as they fought to overcome the disaster,” recalled Mr. Jorgen Haglind, Vice President of the Tetra Laval Group, and Senior Vice President of Tetra Pak, who was on a special visit to Deyang to launch the School Assistance Program. “Given that our business is to support the well-being of people all over the world, the Tetra Laval Group was willing to contribute its part to the relief and reconstruction efforts of the Chinese people,” added Mr. Haglind
“The disaster relief and reconstruction is an extremely complicated and arduous task. What we have been most concerned about is the specific needs of the individual groups of people affected, as well as the long-term assistance that our projects can provide,” explained Mr. Haglind.
“For example, when we learned that the grassroots medical system in some areas was severely damaged, we donated funds to rebuild and equip 100 village clinics for the local communities. Considering that many high school students from financially challenged families may be forced to discontinue schooling, we have used a large part of our total funds to support them in completing their studies. We hope this timely assistance will help them at this critical stage of their lives,” continued Mr. Haglind.
Tetra Pak China, the first of Tetra Laval’s three domestic companies established in China and the largest in terms of operations, has made tremendous efforts to ensure effective implementation of the Disaster Relief Fund. It has set up a special task force to conduct field investigations and research to better understand the specific needs of the people suffering from the earthquake. The team is dedicated to plan and facilitate a series of relief and recovery projects covering rural medical systems, high school student assistance, psychological counseling for children, training and reemployment for disabled people, living environment improvements, as well as dairy farm reconstruction.
For further information, please contact Jörgen Haglind, Senior Vice President, Communications, Tetra Laval at +46 708 36 46 10
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