Nestlé Egypt Inks MoU with Egyptian Environment Ministry Today
Nestlé Egypt signed today a Memorandum of Understanding with the Egypt’s Environment Ministry for food for cleanliness project.
Nestlé Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, the Kheirwa Baraka Association and the Spirit of Youth Association for Environmental Services at an official ceremony on Sunday which was attended by Dr. Laila Iskandar, Egyptian Minister of Environmental Affairs. The signing ceremony inaugurated the “Food for Cleanliness” project in which communities in Ezbet Khairallah (Old Cairo) will be taught how to manage trash in exchange for Nestle food products.
The “Food for Cleanliness” agreement implements a joint environmental project as a part of an integrated solid waste management system through the coordination of Nestlé, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and the two nonprofit organizations. The activities as part of the project will include educating citizens about the importance of source segregation, the actual sorting of waste, collection and transportation as well as donations to the 2,400 participating households by Nestle throughout the six month duration.
The program will be implemented in two different three month phases, each reaching 1,200 households. Kheirwa Baraka Association will launch an awareness campaign on how to separate trash at the source and will then collect it in order to be transported to the specified destinations with help from the Spirit of Youth Association. Three times a week for six months, Nestlé will provide nutritious offerings as an incentive to the participating households which will be distributed with the help of Kheirwa Baraka team members.
“At Nestlé we have always believed that in order to prosper we need the communities we serve and in which we operate to prosper as well; this is the basis of our Creating Shared Value platform,” said Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Egypt. “We recognize our position in society brings both opportunities and responsibilities from which we can create value for all by helping to address local issues. The ‘Food for Cleanliness’ program is a great opportunity for Nestle to help our local partners like the Kheirwa Baraka and Spirit of Youth Associations achieve their goals in underserved communities.”
“The Ministry of Environmental Affairs enthusiastically supports grassroots programs stemming from concerted efforts by the private and public sectors and where communities help each other to create better standards of living,” said H.E. Dr. Laila Iskandar, Egyptian Minister of Environmental Affairs. “We see great value in the ‘Food for Cleanliness’ program as it will help to create a sustainable and environmentally sound solution to our community’s waste management issues.”
“Kheirwa Baraka NGO’s goal is to achieve social cohesion and promote life with dignity for the less fortunate in Egypt. We have focused our work in the unplanned community of EzbetKhairalla,” said Mrs. Mona Said El Tawil, Deputy Chair of Kheirwa Baraka Association, “where we believe that the 750,000 residents must have the conditions and services that will allow them to live with dignity in a clean, healthy and safe environment. The ‘Food for Cleanliness’ program will teach 2400 family units within this community the health benefits of waste segregation. This is something we hope will spread to more households and over time will benefit the entire community while improving their living conditions.”
“One of our main objectives at the Spirit of Youth Association is to improve the livelihood conditions of the zabaleen and promote the practice of solid waste segregation at source and to raise awareness about its impact on the environment.” said Ms. Dalia Dawoud, Chairwoman of the Board for Spirit of Youth Association. “The ‘Food for Cleanliness’ program is a great opportunity for us to help educate other communities on the environmental and personal benefits of creating an integrated waste management system and we’re thrilled to be taking part in that initiative.”
