In the past, Lerøy used to give Christmas gifts to customers and business partners, but after the company introduced its new ethical guidelines in 2017, these kinds of gifts were no longer allowed.
“At that point, we decided that this money should go to a good cause instead”, says Anne Hilde Midttveit, who is responsible for Quality, Environment and CSR at Lerøy.
For the company, the obvious choice was to donate to charities that Lerøy already supported and cooperated with. Therefore, the money goes to MSF, and Save the Children.
Lerøy has supported this organisation, which each year helps over 15 million people, since 2017. MSF is a medical humanitarian organisation that responds to emergencies and provides medical assistance to those who need it most.
In 2020, almost all of its funding came from private donors like Lerøy, which is important to MSF, because it guarantees its ability to provide medical assistance exclusively based on need, without any political considerations.
“We provide medical assistance in areas affected by war and conflict, respond to natural disasters and provide medical assistance to refugees. We also work in chronic and forgotten crises, and in countries with a weak health service”, says Lovise Stette-Høyberg, a business advisor at MSF.
In 2020, Lerøy’s contribution was earmarked for the organisation’s measles vaccination programmes.
Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that is common in many of the countries where MSF operates. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most deaths from the disease occur in countries with low per capita incomes and with weak health infrastructure.
“Each year, we vaccinate well over one million people, and Lerøy’s donation makes an important contribution towards that”, says Lovise.
In addition to the vaccination programme, MSF also responds to measles outbreaks and provides supportive care.
“We also hope that Lerøy will inspire other companies to take their corporate social responsibility seriously. Thank you very much for your life-saving support!” she says.
Lerøy also supports Save the Children’s education programme in Malawi.
“Education saves children’s lives and gives children and adolescents the chance to build a future for themselves and their families”, says Bodil Sveen Berggren, a partnership development manager at Save the Children.
Their focus is on protecting the most vulnerable and at-risk children in Malawi, ensuring they get a decent education and giving them a better life. The aim is for all children to learn, develop and be protected in an inclusive school environment with suitably qualified teachers.
Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries and its education system is in great need of improvement.
For almost 30 years, compulsory basic education has been free, and considering the circumstances, a large proportion of children start school. In recent years, the quality of the learning environment and of learning outcomes has declined, and many teachers lack basic skills like reading and arithmetic.
Each year, many pupils – particularly girls – drop out of school. This is often due to child marriage, teenage pregnancy and violence at schools. By the time they turn 18, almost four out of ten girls are married, and three out of ten have had their first child.
“In cooperation with local civil society organisations and the authorities, we are working to prevent this. We are spreading knowledge about the negative impact this has on children and society through various public information campaigns”, explains Bodil.
Schools are also not well enough adapted for children with special needs and with disabilities. The majority neither have teachers who are qualified to help children with these needs or infrastructure and teaching systems that are adapted to children with disabilities.
Lerøy’s donation helps towards achieving the project’s goal of giving 280,000 children better educational outcomes and a high quality education.
The funds are helping to give 4,000 teachers training in child-friendly teaching and better teaching techniques, providing relevant and good teaching materials, ensuring that schools are inclusive, helping to reduce child marriage and teenage pregnancy rates, helping to end corporal punishment in schools, and increasing the engagement and participation of parents and the local community.
“Together we can ensure that children in Malawi have a chance to learn and develop in safe and inclusive learning environments”, says Bodil.
Every three years, Lerøy’s employees are asked which charities they believe the company should support, and each time it is MSF and Save the Children that come out on top. This shows that these two organisations mean a lot to Lerøy and its staff.
The company considers it an honour to contribute towards helping other people. Regardless of how big or small a donation is, the help may be invaluable to the person who receives it.
Lerøy therefore encourages everyone who can to donate to an organisation which helps other people, so that as many people as possible can enjoy a good, peaceful Christmas.
On behalf of Lerøy, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
