As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Société Générale Moçambique bank and its employees made a donation of food and basic necessities to the Repensar Environmental Education Cooperative on Friday (24/03) for the victims of Cyclone Freddy in the Boane district.

"The Future brings us together for Boane" is the motto used by the Bank for this solidarity movement, in response to the heavy damage caused by Cyclone Freddy, which affected the movement of goods and people throughout the country, including the Boane District in Maputo province.

Families were left homeless, infrastructure was destroyed, some institutions provided shelter for affected families and several associations, in addition to the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC), channelled aid to minimize the pain and suffering of the affected families.

The Repensar Environmental Education Cooperative, a cooperative organization created with the fundamental aim of contributing to the formal and non-formal environmental education of young people, children and communities, through the joint efforts of founding members, collaborators and partners, is one of the organizations involved in receiving aid and channelling it to those affected, with which the bank has allied itself to make its intention possible.

In this context, Société Générale Moçambique delivered a hundred mattresses and mosquito nets, repellents, clothes donated by employees and various non-perishable food products, which according to the Bank's Marketing Director, Sónia Abreu, is a joint mobilization between the company and its employees in a gesture of humanitarian assistance.

"For the Bank, each person represents the future and Société Générale will always be willing to support the collective needs of the communities in which we operate," explained Sónia.

Human Resources Director Sara Matimele says that "this act is not only an act of Corporate Responsibility, but also a gesture of love and compassion that has touched every employee, given the sad images we've seen in the media. It could have been one of us in this situation, so the message we also want to pass on to society in general is that we are for the future, for rebuilding the economy, which is why we are here," he said.

For her part, Júlia Ferrão, a representative of the Repensar Cooperative, which focuses on environmental education and zero waste, praises this initiative and guarantees that this aid will significantly change the lives of the communities in the aftermath of the cyclone. "Right now we have families getting back on their feet and they need mattresses, for example, despite the need to prevent diseases such as malaria and cholera, which are prone to this time of year."

It should be noted that in addition to Repensar, the Société Général group donated similar products to the IGNC and to the Catholic Church resettlement in the Boane district, this being the third social responsibility action in response to Cyclone Freddy.

Since 2011, Société Générale has demonstrated a clear commitment to environmental and social sustainability, including the adoption of specific measures to combat climate change and promote sustainable development in Africa.