PRESS RELEASE
Youths from 11 countries reached out to through sponsorship and employee engagement activities
To date, over 2,000 employees have volunteered in various activities to participate in the partnership
Inaugural regional conference organized to discuss challenges and future plans
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 21, 2015/ -- Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL Group) (http://www.dpdhl.com),
the world’s leading logistics company, together with non-governmental
organization SOS Children’s Villages, have celebrated half a decade of a
successful partnership that has helped to improve the employment
prospects of disadvantaged young people from SOS Children’s villages
across 11 countries in Africa. The partnership between DPDHL Group and
SOS Children’s Villages began in 2010 in South Africa and Madagascar and
has since expanded to nine other African countries – Ethiopia, Ghana,
Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.
“Education
and employability are highly important topics for Deutsche Post DHL
Group and, through our GoTeach program, play a central role in our
Corporate Responsibility strategy,” said Christof Ehrhart, Executive
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Responsibility, Deutsche
Post DHL Group. “We are keen to support the direct development of future
logistics talent, but we also firmly believe that education and
employability make an important contribution to stability and prosperity
in the world, Through five years of partnership with SOS Children’s
Villages, we have already seen first-hand the benefits and positive
impact that engagement between business and charities that create
opportunities for young people can have.”
“Empowering
youth and improving their employment prospects is the objective of the
international partnership between SOS Children’s Villages and Deutsche
Post DHL Group. The success of our partnership is rooted in the
commitment of our employees who volunteer their time to mentor youths
aged 15-25 and to help them get ready for their foray into the job
market,” said Christoph Selig, Head of GoTeach Program, Deutsche Post
DHL Group.
“Employees
mentor youths from both SOS Children’s Villages and SOS Family
Strengthening Programs, and organize a variety of tailored career
development activities that deliver tangible results for the mentees,”
he added. “It really has been a joy to see the partnership and
correspondingly, our outreach to young people, grow. To date, our
employees have engaged with over 3,500 youths in Africa.”
Over
the past five years, DPDHL Group has organized a variety of activities
in the 11 countries, including job shadowing exercises, mentorship
programs between DHL employees and SOS children, skills transfer,
internships, sports activities and environmental initiatives.
To
discuss challenges and future plans, an inaugural conference will take
place over four days in Kenya, with teams from both organizations coming
together to jointly develop new ideas on how to further strengthen the
partnership in Africa and the Middle East.
Speaking
from the inaugural regional Africa DHL-SOS Children’s Villages GoTeach
Conference in Karen, Nairobi, where more than 50 participants from both
organizations are meeting from July 14 to 17, Tom Were, National
Director, SOS Children’s Villages Kenya, said, “While SOS provides a
loving home for the children that we care for, DHL enables their
independence through their employee volunteer program. The program
empowers our youth through exposure to the working world and educating
them on the career options available. As a result, our youth become
self-reliant, responsible, and contributing members of society. We are
looking forward to deepening this partnership and extending our outreach
to more youth in Africa over the next few years.”
As
part of the DPDHL Group GoTeach program, the Group works with two
global partners, Teach For All and SOS Children’s Villages, to improve
educational opportunity and employability for young people.
Through
its partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, which was established in
2010, DPDHL Group today works with Villages in 26 countries in Africa,
Asia, Latin America and Europe.(1) Along with financial support for
educational programs and youth facilities, the activities focus on
career guidance, teaching basic professional skills and providing young
people with their first exposure to the working environment. DPDHL Group
collaborates closely with local SOS Children’s Villages to develop
support measures tailored directly to the needs of the community.
In
2014, DPDHL Group volunteers organized more than 160 different
activities reaching more than 1,600 young people from socially
disadvantaged backgrounds, offering over 100 internships and finally
permanently employing 25 young talents.
Corporate
Responsibility is an integral part of DPDHL Group’s corporate strategy
with “Living Responsibility” as its motto. It focuses on environmental
protection (GoGreen), disaster management (GoHelp) and education
(GoTeach) and supports employee volunteerism through Global Volunteer
Day, and the Living Responsibility Fund.
(1)
Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Madagascar,
Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam.
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Deutsche Post DHL.
Media Contact:
Lilian Kanyi
Marketing and Communications Manager, East and Central Africa
Tel +254 (20) 711 017 165
Mobile +254 719 411 875
DHL – The logistics company for the world
DHL (http://www.dpdhl.com)
is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. DHL’s family of
divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging
from national and international parcel delivery, international express,
road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management.
With more than 325,000 employees in over 220 countries and territories
worldwide, they connect people and businesses securely and reliably,
enabling global trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth
markets and industries including e-Commerce, technology, life science
and healthcare, energy, automotive and retail, a proven commitment to
corporate responsibility and an unrivalled presence in developing
markets, DHL is decisively positioned as “The logistics company for the
world”.
DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 56 billion euros in 2014.
SOURCE
Deutsche Post DHL
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