Dole plants fruits
of social responsibility
Sep 13, 2007 10:27 AM
At the groundbreaking are, from left: Mario Padilla, general manager, Dole Ecuador; Olga Andrade and Maria Eugenia Castro, Dale Foundation; Jessenia Plaza, a Marcelino Mariduena official; Magne Svartbekk, Bama; and Rene Maldonado, mayor of Marcelino Mariduena.
In an unprecedented partnership, Bama Gruppen (Norway), Bend It (Norwegian juvenile organization sponsored by Bama), Fenacle (Ecuador agricultural workers’ organization), the Marcelino Maridueña municipality, UBESA (Dole’s subsidiary in Ecuador), the Dale Foundation (sponsored by Dole and banana growers), and Dole Food Co Inc broke ground recently at the construction site for a new school.
The school is being constructed for the Río Viejo Community in Ecuador under the slogan "Unidos por el Desarollo de Nuestra Ninez," which means "United for the Development of our Children." This joint project will be fully and equally financed by Dole and Bama.
Dole’s Education Program, initiated in 2001 with the construction of its first school, grows stronger with this project. The new "Ecuador Pais Amazónico" school will provide students with a modern building infrastructure including well-ventilated classrooms, spaces for recreational activities, a teachers’ room, a kitchen, and a cafeteria. The school will serve more than 300 children from the Río Viejo Community and surrounding areas.
