Caring for our children

Investment in people is an economic need. Since business is the most powerful institution on earth, business needs to take responsibility for the upliftment of the societies in which it works.

Danone Clover says South Africans need to see how a fairer society and a dynamic economy can exist together.

“The strategies for social justice and environmental improvement,” says Stéphane Jacqmin, marketing director at Danone Clover, “can harmonise with the strategies for a successful and modern economy. Therein lie the fundamentals of sustainable development. We have to realise that economic success cannot last if parts of our society are excluded from the benefits.”

“One way in which Danone Clover helps is by supporting CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation. This is a cause we identified more than four years ago and have chosen to support it annually ever since,” continues Jacqmin.

Danone Clover supports CHOC (Children's Haematology Oncology Clinics) Childhood Cancer Foundation through the ‘Caring for our Children' campaign, which runs every June and July. The company donates a portion of the receipts from the sale of Danone Clover yoghurts, drinking yoghurts, juice yoghurt blends and maas products.

In previous years, the campaign raised R1.3 million (2004), R1.4 million (2005) and R1.5 million (2006). The target for this year is R1.6 million, which will be achieved from a donation of 6 cents for every Danone Clover product sold during June and July.

The main objective of the annual campaign is the creation of a new Danone Clover CHOC House. These are sanctuaries in which children can stay, with a parent or guardian, during therapy. One of the reasons for the sanctuaries is that the child's immune system is weakened by the therapy, leaving the body open to infections. The clean environment in a Danone Clover CHOC House is in this regard ideal. Another reason is the stress and strain caused by travelling long distances between home and hospital.

To date, Danone Clover CHOC Houses have been created in Bloemfontein, Soweto, and Cape Town. This year's goal is for a fourth house, in Pretoria.

“Business never had a tradition of social responsibility,” Jacqmin adds. “In the past, it was felt that capitalism and free enterprise reacted to market forces created by consumers, thus leading to benefits for all. Clearly, this has not been the case, and business is still waking up to the responsibility it has for the world in which it operates. At Danone Clover, every decision we take is viewed in the glare of that responsibility.”