The mining company Iamgold Essakane SA donated food kits to 1,000 vulnerable households on Wednesday 27 December 2023. The donation took place during a ceremony organised on the Essakane site. The donation is worth 37 million FCFA. The 1,000 vulnerable beneficiary households come from 13 villages in the mine’s impact zone. These villages are located in the communes of Falagountou and Gorom Gorom. Each food kit consists of a 50 kg bag of rice, a box of spaghetti and a 5 litre can of oil.
The ceremony was attended by the presidents of the Village Development Committees (Comités villageois de Développements – CVD) in the area concerned and members of the mine’s management team.
In the name of corporate social responsibility
Frank Napon, Health-Safety-Sustainable Development Manager at the Essakane mine, said that this gesture was part of the company’s social responsibility. He officially handed over the food to the community representatives on behalf of the mine’s Managing Director, Tidiane Barry. “Beyond our mission to produce gold, we are committed to implementing social projects for our local communities. It is in view of the difficulties experienced by certain sections of the local host population that Iamgold Essakane has undertaken this donation of food kits to vulnerable communities,” said Frank Napon.
The food donated by the company will bolster the efforts of the Burkinabe government and other well-wishers to help vulnerable people. “This operation is a demonstration of solidarity on the part of our mining company, which is always committed to supporting host communities”, continued the director in charge of sustainable development issues at Iamgold Essakane.
An essential lever in the fight against poverty
The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude through the presidents of the village development committees.
“”This is a real end-of-year gift, and it will bring relief to many needy families,” said Hamidou Amadou, a community leader. The heads of the CVDs thanked the gold mine for this show of solidarity with them. “Vulnerable households are really happy to receive this food. A big thank you to Iamgold Essakane SA for thinking of its local residents,” said a CVD president.
The collaboration between the Essakane company and local communities is cited as an example by all stakeholders. Franck Napon paid tribute to this fruitful partnership. He congratulated and encouraged the local people for the resilience they have shown in the face of the major security challenges in the Sahel.
This donation is the Essakane mine’s contribution to the Head of State’s call for solidarity, who invited his fellow citizens to show their solidarity with vulnerable people in these difficult times.
As a reminder, since 2009, Iamgold Essakane SA has contributed several tens of billions of FCFA to support the development of its mining impact zone and by devoting itself to social sectors such as health, education, water and sanitation.
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