At TotalEnergies Zambia, we believe that the way to consolidate our social license to operate is to share our expertise and know-how, listen to our stakeholders and be a responsible corporate leader. To this effect, we have built a strategy that is aligned with our activities and it focuses on the following four main areas:
Road Safety
In Africa, road traffic injuries are the 4th cause of death amongst the 5-14 years old. TotalEnergies Zambia in collaboration with Road Transport and Safety Association distributes children's road safety cubes to primary schools in the country. The cubes contain reading and exercise materials designed by TotalEnergies Group, with the technical support of the World Health Organization. The materials are used to teach children how to protect themselves against the dangers on the road. In 2013, 9402 pupils were sensitized with 19 schools being visited. By early 2015, we plan to sensitize around 18,804 pupils and visit 38 schools around Zambia.
We also train all our drivers on road safety and have fitted on board computers on all company vehicles and tankers to monitor road behaviors. We participate in the conferences organized by Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) about road safety during which, we share our best practices in reducing accidents on our fuel trucks.
Tackling Malaria and HIV/AIDS
Every year, malaria and HIV/AIDS claim millions of lives with developing countries being hit the hardest. We have therefore developed programs and policies to tackle these diseases through prevention and education for our employees and local communities. A malaria kit has been designed by the TotalEnergies Group and is used to sensitize children on malaria. Also, in 2014, TotalEnergies Zambia donated K20, 000 worth of fuel to Tiny Tim and Friends, a charitable organisation who support orphans, vulnerable children and pregnant women living with HIV.
Access to Energy
Access to energy is our business — and a key driver of economic, social and human development. As an energy specialist, we are committed to promoting and developing solar solutions for everyone. By 2017, we are aiming to market 45, 000 solar lamps for lighting and phone charging solutions, primarily to address the needs of the poorest communities in Zambia who do not have easy access to energy.
Education
We also want to share our know-how and expertise by forging partnerships with the universities that are educating the students who will be TotalEnergies's managers of tomorrow. A partnership with the University of Zambia has already been forged and offers internships to students from the School of Engineering. For the year 2014, two students were selected by the University of Zambia and are benefiting from this program. We hope to forge more of partnerships in future.
A donation of computers to two community schools in Matero district has seen a total of 4058 students benefitting directly from the computers donated.
In 2014, TotalEnergies Zambia in partnership with Time to Learn and Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education launched the TotalEnergies Library Box which is a 58 book library stored in a box. This initative has impacted the lives of 20,000 students countrywide.