Nzoia Sugar and Red Cross (Bungoma) give back to the Turkana community

Written by Rosemary Wachiye

Red Cross regional representative Richard Walukano handing over the donations to Nzoia Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility officer, Mr.Daglas Wekesa.  A community is the backbone to any company it makes up the workers, the neighborhood and therefore, there should be a mutual co-existence between any company and the community around it. Nzoia Sugar Company this week donated foodstuffs to the people facing hunger and drought in Turkana through Red Cross branch in Bungoma. Ms Valentine Mutaki the Bungoma Red Cross branch coordinator revealed that as an organization that is out to help the needy people in different parts of the country, they had sent requests to different business companies in the country in regard to feeding the people of Turkana. “We sent requests for donations from companies all over the country, but so far only Nzoia Sugar Company responded and we appreciate what the company is doing to the community,” said Ms Mutaki Nzoia Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility officer, Mr.Daglas Wekesa stated that the organization’s response to the request from Red Cross was to buy different kinds of foodstuffs and send them over to Turkana to rescue them from the hunger escapade. “We have donated 21 bales of maize flour, 5 cartons of cooking fat, 150 Kg of beans and 250 Kg of sugar towards helping the hunger stricken people in Turkana,” said Wekesa He added that as part of Nzoia Company’s corporate social responsibility it was going outside the sugar belt and sugar zone to give assistance to the needy and not just the communities around it who contribute sugarcane to the company. The Public Relations Officer of Nzoia Sugar Company, Mr. Joseph Kawa revealed to West FM that it was not the first time the company was donating to the needy as in 2009 the company donated food to the people in West Pokot. ” Its not the first time for us to do this as in the year 2009, the President declared hunger to be a public concern and so the company contributed food and took to the people of west Pokot towards saving the needy. It’s always our duty to give back to community and we yield pleasure in doing that,” said Kawa. The Regional Representative of Kenya Red Cross in Bungoma, Mr. Richard Walukano welcomed the gesture and called upon other organization to follow in the sugar company’s footsteps towards serving the community. “we appreciate the efforts of Nzoia company in contributing towards helping the needy in the country and we just want to ask other organizations in the same capacity to contribute and help people in need because in doing so people feel happy associating with them,” said Walukano.