Fonterra continues its backing for rural schools and students
New Zealand-based dairy producer Fonterra has been working with schools and students in Shanxi and Hebei provinces since 2017, providing self-defense training and teaching English, computer skills, natural science and music, as well as donating books and laptops.
Fonterra partnered with Girls’ Protection, a Chinese NGO, to provide self-defense training to primary students in Ying county, Shanxi and Yutian county, Hebei in 2017.
So far, nearly 400 primary students have attended the lectures. Starting from the autumn semester, Fonterra farm employees have volunteered every week to teach at local primary schools near Fonterra’s farm hubs in the two counties.
Every Wednesday employees from Ying farms teach English to students from third grade to fifth grade at Jiupu Primary School in their spare time. Before winter vacation in 2018, they donated more than 100 books to the students.
While in Yutian, Fonterra’s employees teach computer skills, natural science and music at Gaojiazhuang Primary School every Tuesday.
Also, during the 2017 summer vacation, several beneficiaries of the Fonterra Scholarship at Shanxi Agriculture University taught at the summer school in Ying county.
Fonterra has also donated 110 laptops to local primary schools in Shanxi and Hebei.
On June 26, Fonterra received an award at the third China Enterprise Responsibility Brand Summit for its long-term commitment to corporate social responsibility and its achievements.
For more than a decade, Fonterra has been investing in healthcare and supporting the development of dairy expertise. It has carried out several projects, such as the healthcare program for mothers and infants in rural areas, the training program for rural medical workers, and training for dairy farmers and a scholarship for local dairy talents.
In 2009, Fonterra partnered with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation to establish the Fonterra Charity Fund, which provides medical assistance and advice to pregnant women and children in rural China. The program has benefited more than 10 million rural residents.
In the same period, Fonterra commissioned Peking Union Medical College Hospital to invite front-line professional teachers to organize prenatal diagnosis training programs. So far, about 4,700 maternal and child health workers in the central and western regions of China have received training.
In addition to its continuing efforts in maternal and child health, Fonterra also established the Fonterra Scholarship in 2010 in order to help cultivate expertise for the local food industry. More than 1,000 students have won scholarships. The company also invited some scholarship winners to join the teaching program for children in rural areas.
Besides, in 2010, Fonterra partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture of China to launch a dairy farmer training program. Agriculture and animal husbandry experts provide training for local dairy farmers in Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi provinces, sharing food safety and dairy farming experience to help promote industrial upgrading. More than 3,000 dairy farmers have received this training.
Fonterra is a dairy cooperative owned by 10,500 farming families in New Zealand. With a broad and extensive presence in China, Fonterra is dedicated to providing consumers and customers with nutrition for life through dairy products they can trust. As the world’s largest exporter of dairy products, Fonterra is committed to supporting the sustainable development of China’s dairy industry.