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 Kampala, Uganda: MTN Uganda through the MTN Foundation has donated UGX 100 million to the Uganda Red Cross Society to assist in aiding the disaster-stricken people in Bududa District which was struck by a series of landslides on the slopes of Mt. Elgon this week Monday 1st March 2010.
The relief aid by the Foundation is targeting the landslide victims and survivors in Bududa and surrounding areas that have been affected. The donation will go towards the purchase of medicines, food and blankets.
Speaking during the handover, MTN’s Chief Executive Officer and trustee to the MTN Foundation, Mr. Themba Khumalo said the Foundation would continue to respond to different needs across the country and stressed that efforts should be directed towards making regions more sustainable in order to avoid or minimize such calamities. “We as a Foundation believe that the future lies not in responding to calamities like these but in helping to put in place mechanisms that can help avert them” he said.
Receiving the donation, the Chairman of the Uganda Red Cross, Mr. Tom Buruku expressed gratitude and appreciation towards MTN’s rapid and immediate response to those in need.
The Eastern Region was last year hit by a big wave of famine that many experts pinned down to a number of reasons including the changing weather patterns. Now, with the devastating landslides in the same region, the Chairman called upon other Corporates to emulate MTN and join hands in supporting the relief and humanitarian efforts of the Uganda Red Cross to help address the urgent need for assistance in Eastern Uganda.
ABOUT the MTN FOUNDATION
Launched in 2007, the MTN Foundation is a non profit organisation engaged in activities of general interest having a philanthropic focus on education, science & technology, music, arts & culture, health, Habitat for Humanity and other actions of humanitarian character, contributing to the promotion and protection of material heritage and national culture. The MTN Uganda Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of the MTN Group in Uganda and has made over UGX 1.5 billion since the year 2007 in contributions to community focused projects that have wide ranging benefits and that are sustainable. The MTN Group is a global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and has exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle East. Visit www.mtn.com for more information.
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