Malnourished children with nothing to put in their mouths, sick people without medical treatment due to lack of means to move, half-ruined shacks as their only ‘home’… this is the devastating reality suffered by the majority of the population in Colombia, where 20 million people live in poverty. 20 million people live in poverty and seven million subsist in indigence. and seven million subsist in extreme poverty.
To help alleviate this harsh situation, Congelados Apolo has renewed its social collaboration agreement with Océanos, one of its distribution companies in this country. Under the terms of its solidarity agreement, Apolo allocates 0.6% of sales to the Colombian company, which promotes various humanitarian projects in the country.The company promotes various humanitarian projects in communities near its factory through the Probeso Foundation (Social Benefit Project). The initiatives have an impact on the development of the area through fish farming, the improvement of workers’ housing, community health and the nutrition and education of young children.
Since its foundation, just over 50 years ago, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been very present in the philosophy of Congelados Apolo. The company, which opted for quality and innovation as guarantors when frozen products were still unknown in Spain – at that time many wondered what “stiff fish” meant when referring to these foods – shares the firm conviction that “creating a strong business and building a better world are not contradictory goals”, as William Clay Ford Jr. advocated. The two goals must go hand in hand. There will be no tomorrow if profits are measured only in monetary terms, leaving aside the necessary improvement of society. It is everyone’s responsibility – to the extent of their possibilities – to contribute to building a more just future.
Convinced of this maxim, the company from Granada has signed social collaboration agreements with supplier companies in different parts of the world, including Océanos.
Thanks to this initiative, in 2015 work continued on the Soya Plant program in Colombia, which benefits approximately 400 children in the community of Puerto Badel, a very depressed area of the country, reducing the rate of malnutrition thanks to the properties and high nutritional quality provided by fish and seafood among the child population.
With the same idea, the children’s dining room of the Puerto Badel Educational Institution has been provided with the necessary equipment. In 2015, it is planned to refurbish part of this school center in order to upgrade its facilities.
Apollo’s collaboration agreement with Oceans and Probeso seeks to improve the quality of life in the area with a parallel initiative related to access to healthcare. To this end, an ambulance has been made available to the community to transport the sick. In 2014, the vehicle made 42 trips that facilitated the care of these emergency cases.
In addition to Education, Nutrition and Health as universal pillars, the agreement has a parallel impact on the improvement of housing for Oceans workers. Families employed in the company with problems of substandard housing, either due to the climatic conditions of the area or to lack of maintenance, can opt for a decent home thanks to this rehabilitation project, which includes materials, labor and advice for the renovation of the deteriorated buildings.
One of the cornerstones of the collaboration agreement with Colombia also contemplates the development of the area through fish farming projects that generate complementary income. Thus, in the towns of Recreo and Leticia, a shrimp farming project is being promoted to implement new sources of income. Océanos finances the supply of the farming inputs and then purchases the total shrimp production. This initiative is supported by specialized technical assistance to ensure adequate production and product quality.
Given the positive effects of this program, Apolo, leader in the frozen sector in Andalusia, has renewed this 2015 its collaboration agreement with Océanos. In this way, the company from Granada, based in Loja, tries to contribute to improve, as far as possible, the quality of life in those parts of the world where it operates.
