MASERU – THEY are in the business of pumping fuel into your car to keep you mobile, driven by the profit motive.
But when there is a cause they deem worthy of support, Engen Lesotho will not hesitate to get their hands dirty.
St Cecilia orphanage in Ha Bua-Sono in Berea just outside Maseru experienced this generous spirit last week after Engen Lesotho “pumped” 680 litres of paraffin into their chicken project to keep it going.
The orphanage, with 54 children, runs a thriving chicken project to generate funds to buy other essentials such as food. It survives by selling chickens, eggs and vegetables.
However, the cost of paraffin needed to heat up the chicken layers was proving extremely prohibitive. During Lesotho’s biting winters, paraffin is needed to heat up the chicken runs.
Paraffin challenges were beginning to threaten the viability of the orphanage.
Faced with this reality, the orphanage then sent an urgent plea for help to Engen Lesotho.
What attracted Engen Lesotho to the project was the orphanage’s approach to business and their quest for running a sustainable business rather than rely on hand-outs from donors.
Engen Lesotho Managing Director, Tebogo Mosehla, said the donation was part of his company’s contribution in alleviating the challenges of society.
“As a company that tries to be a part of the community, we are going to help in lessening the burden by adopting this orphanage as one of our major corporate social investment (CSI) projects,” Mosehla said.
“This is just a small contribution at the moment but we hope to make it bigger as time goes on.”
A senior official at the orphanage, Reitumetse Marumo, said they try to train the children the principles of running a business from a very young age. As a result, many of the children now
participate in taking care of the chickens as well as selling the eggs to support the orphanage.
“We are very grateful for this donation and you have made as all feel loved,” said Marumo, who is the caretaker at the orphanage. “We also appreciate the prompt response,” she said.
Keith Chapatarongo