Cummins awards six major corporate responsibility grants in Africa
 | Cummins awards six major corporate responsibility grants in Africa_final | 186 KB | Download |
 Preview | Christian Ndomba, Cummins Corporate Responsibility Leader Africa and the Middle East | 401.4 KB | Download |
 Preview | A COVID-19 relief grant for a nutrition project in Kenya | 313.54 KB | Download |
 Preview | Five full grants have been awarded for Rise Up South Africa for female empowerment and upliftment | 3.36 MB | Download |
 Preview | Food distribution in Middelburg, South Africa as part of the COVID-19 relief effort by Cummins | 3.42 MB | Download |
Other recent grant approvals unrelated to COVID-19 include a Youth Success Programme in South Africa to assist 800 Grade 9 learners, and five full grants for the Rise Up programme in South Africa that advocates female empowerment and upliftment. In addition, a new school hall has been built at the Wusakile High School in Zambia to accommodate 1 411 learners during examinations.
With Cummins having a direct presence in 14 out of 68 countries in Africa and the Middle East, and independent distributors in others, it is important that the OEM’s regional Corporate Responsibility strategy is aligned with that of the global company. This is the task of Christian Ndomba, Cummins Corporate Responsibility Leader Africa and the Middle East.
“We have a global strategy at Cummins that we obviously need to align to, followed by a specific regional implementation. So it goes through multiple interventions to ensure employee engagement in different activities throughout the region,” Ndomba explains.
The global strategy has three platforms, namely education, equality of opportunity and the environment. “At a regional level we have the flexibility to determine how we prioritise these different platforms.” This means that secondary education, gender equality and people with disabilities are the main regional focus. In terms of the environment, the emphasis is on conservation and rehabilitation, which ranges from recycling programmes to beach clean-ups, tree planting and vegetable gardens.
Corporate responsibility has always been a core value of Cummins. These initiatives tie in with Cummins’ global values of diversity and inclusion, caring, teamwork, integrity and excellence. “Our philosophy as a company is predicated on improving the communities in which we operate. What is critical for us is that our employees become involved in this process,” Ndomba stresses.
Employee engagement is fostered by ensuring that all at Cummins can apply for a grant for any community project they may identify, as long as it is aligned with the OEM’s global corporate responsibility strategy. The second requirement is that a competent Non-Governmental/Non-Profit Organisation (NGO) is available at ground level to drive such projects. These NGOs are vetted by Global Giving, Cummins’ main funder organisation.
“It is important that we work with credible NGOs, big or small, with a solid foundation and reputation, with which we can establish a long-standing relationship,” Ndomba highlights. Impact metrics are utilised to track the successful outcomes of projects, and the progress made by such NGOs. “We look for NGOs we can work with in the long term, which can be anything from three to five years.
“At the same time, we want to ensure that both the NGO and beneficiary can continue to work together going forward, long after our departure. Basically, we build sustainability into our processes. Hence, we do not only get an NGO to establish a food garden for a school, for example, but to train the school in its maintenance and upkeep. By the time Cummins steps away, we have a fully-fledged and viable community project,” Ndomba stresses.
Ndomba challenges more local corporates to be fully dedicated the cause of corporate responsibility. “Unfortunately, we find ourselves still in the minority in this regard. It is important to note that uplifting our local communities stands to benefit the entire country.
“In terms of our education initiatives, we are growing the pool of employable people. Even if they are not ultimately employed by Cummins or other industry players, they will still have the necessary skills to become entrepreneurs. At the end of the day, corporate responsibility is a win-win situation for companies, communities, and countries,” he concludes.
—ends—
Connect with Cummins on Social Media to receive the company’s latest news
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CumminsAfricaME/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cummins-africa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cummins_Africa
About Cummins
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute, and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. The company’s products range from diesel, natural gas, electric and hybrid powertrains and powertrain-related components, including filtration, aftertreatment, turbochargers, fuel systems, controls systems, air-handling systems, automated transmissions, electric power generation systems, batteries, electrified power systems, hydrogen generation and fuel cell products. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (US), since its founding in 1919, Cummins employs approximately 61 600 people committed to powering a more prosperous world through three global corporate responsibility priorities critical to healthy communities: education, environment, and equality of opportunity. Cummins serves its customers online, through a network of company-owned and independent distributor locations, and through thousands of dealer locations worldwide, and earned about $2.3 billion on sales of $23.6 billion in 2019. See how Cummins is powering a world that’s always on by accessing news releases and more information at https://www.cummins.com/always-on.
Cummins Contacts
Deepa Rungasamy
Communications Manager
Cummins Africa Middle East
Phone: +27 11 589 8512
Cell: +27 72 630 7501
Media Contact
Thapelo Phukuje
NGAGE Public Relations
Phone: +27 11 867 7763
Fax: +27 86 512 3352
Cell: +27 79 425 4914
thapelo [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za