ZENSHO ACTION

Zensho 's initiatives through food

Supporting coffee-producing regions affected by the disaster [Uganda]

2024.10.15

In August 2024, members of the Fair Trade Department visited coffee-producing regions in Uganda.

In May 2024, heavy rains caused rivers to overflow in Kasese District, western Uganda, resulting in widespread flooding.
This occurred.
Since 2011, more than half of the members of the producers' cooperative working with Zensho on fair trade have been affected by the disaster and forced to live in evacuation centers.

Immediately after receiving information about the floods, Zensho consulted with producers' cooperatives and decided to use its accumulated social development costs * for emergency relief.
We used it to distribute about a week's worth of food locally.
However, because the affected areas are remote, aid from international organizations has not reached them, and it was clear that the initial aid would not be enough to provide sufficient food.
Therefore, Zensho decided to provide further support to its group employees.
We conducted a fundraising campaign.
Additional food kits and mattresses for use in evacuation shelters have been distributed to the 792 union members affected by the disaster.

* social development costs: This refers to the portion of the raw material purchase price that is allocated to various activities aimed at improving the lives of local people.

In August, about three months after the floods, when members of the Fair Trade team went to the area to assess the damage, they saw many traces of the flood's devastation, such as destroyed houses and land affected by landslides.
We also found that some roads were cut off, which is affecting the transportation of harvested coffee.

When I visited the producers' cooperative office, many members had gathered and presented me with a song expressing their gratitude for Zensho 's flood relief efforts.

When I visited the producers' cooperative office, many members had gathered and presented me with a song expressing their gratitude for Zensho 's flood relief efforts.