AgroAmerica

Educación AgroAmérica

Agroamerica contributes to the education of its employees

Agroamerica contributes to the education of its employees

Guatemala, November 2011. Agroamerica celebrated the graduation of 19 kinder garden students from the Fernando Bolaños private rural school in the municipality of Caballo Blanco, Retalhuleu department.

The school was built earlier this year for the children of Agroamerica workers, and its innovative methodology has made it a model for rural schools. Teachers enthusiastically organized the graduation in which children wore gowns to receive their diplomas, as proud parents took pictures and local authorities watched. At the ceremony parents thanked Agroamerica for offering their children the opportunity to get a high-quality education.

District education supervisor Elda Orozco mentioned afterwards that this event will motivate parents to continue sending their children to school, so that in they graduate from elementary school in the near future.

Agroamerica President, thanked teachers and parents for dedicating the event to Fernando Bolaños (RIP), the founder of Agroamerica, who played a key role making the school a reality. “We wish academic excellence for these children, so they graduate from elementary school and then from secondary, and later continue on to university or vocational training”, added the President.

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Construcción de diez aulas AgroAmérica

Agroamerica helped build ten classrooms in the school at Aldea Ticanlú, in Tiquisate, Escuintla

Agroamerica helped build ten classrooms in the school at Aldea Ticanlú, in Tiquisate, Escuintla

Guatemala, October 2011. Contributing to education, especially of nearby communities, Agroamerica helped build ten classrooms in the Juan Pablo Hernández School in the community of Ticanlú.

This project, which will benefit more than 550 students and some 300 families, was made possible by the joint effort of the private sector, the Municipality of Tiquisate and community leaders, among them teachers, parents and members of the local COCODE (Community Development Council).

During the inauguration ceremony school director Milvia Emperatriz Pappa thanked Agroamerica and all those who contributed in the project. “Thank you in particular to Mr. Gustavo Bolaños and to Engineer García Salas because they have given the example to other companies to help the community.” Former provincial head of education Rony Peláez added: “It is good to hear that the private sector is interested in improving everyone’s lives, not only of its employees, but also their families and their communities.”

As a token of their appreciation, school teachers named two of the classrooms after Gustavo Bolaños and Fernando Bolaños.

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Visita de Embajador de Canadá AgroAmérica

The Canadian Ambassador visits Agroamerica farm

The Canadian Ambassador visits Agroamerica farm

Guatemala, December 2011. The Canadian Ambassador, Hugues Rousseau, along with Principal Commercial Aggregate Natalie Samson and Charge d’Affairs Christine Luttmann, visited one of Agroamerica´s farms in Escuintla, to know more about the banana growing and production process.

During the farm tour diplomats went to the banana plantations and a packing plant. They also visited the community of San Jose Mogollon in the municipality of Nueva Concepcion, where they met with members of the COCODE (Local Community Development Council) as well as staff from the health center, together with Agroamerica´s workers. In the community hall COCODE members explained the work they do with in conjunction with Agroamerica, community leaders and women, on health and education topics.

To end the program, Walter Tello, Community Relations Officer for the department of Escuintla, explained the different corporate social responsibility programs of Agroamerica.

Natalie Samson, Principal Commercial Aggregate, said: “The visit to the farm was a unique experience. We are very impressed by the comprehensive range of CSR programs, Agroamerica´s good environmental practices and the efforts made to improve the living standards of their workers.”

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Academia de conductores Profesionales AgroAmérica

Agroamérica opens its own academy for professional drivers -ADECOP-

Agroamérica opens its own academy for professional drivers -ADECOP-

Guatemala, December 2011. Agroamerica now has its own Academy for Professional Drivers, ADECOP, which will train and give a university certificate issued by the Rafael Landivar University to all company drivers and offer to drivers from other organizations interested in it.

With this academy, Agroamerica will improve road safety and contribute to the country’s development. Productivity of the companies will also improve, as will the image and driving practices of participating truck drivers. At the same time the incidence of accidents at work caused by inexperienced drivers will be reduced.

“By creating this academy, we want to give an opportunity to many young people who have not been able to study, and then employ them in the company. We want graduating students to be prepared for their work, and to practice the values of the company: honesty, responsibility and team work, among others”, said Rodrigo Perera, President of Agroamerica’s transport division.

Some of the study courses in the program include driving regulations, inspection of cargo vehicles, industrial safety, road safety, safe procedures of loading and unloading, among others. Topics on human development will also be included in the program, to conclude it with a holistic training on values.

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estudio con médicos de Estados Unidos AgroAmérica

Agroamerica conducts a study with doctors from United States

Agroamerica conducts a study with doctors from United States

Guatemala, December 2011. Agroamerica organized the visit of 12 doctors from United States to conduct a study about the health, education and lifestyle situation of the communities bordering the southwestern departments of Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu and San Marcos.

The objective of this study is to have a better understanding about the lifestyle of the people in these communities and their basic needs, so that Agroamerica can better contribute to their development.

These doctors, together with Agroamerica personnel, conducted focus groups with community leaders and surveyed more than 300 mothers from eight communities: Los Encuentros, Chiquirines, El Pomal, Carrizales, Colonia Barillas, El Palmar II, Santa Fe and Valle Lirio, where most of Agroamerica workers live.

At the end of the week-long activity, a free medical fair was held dedicated to the children of four communities. Noelia Hernández, nurse of the Health Center of Chiquirines, said: “I believe it was really good to be able to take care of 400 children.”

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Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional AgroAmérica

Agroamerica contributes to Guatemala’s Food and Nutritional Security and the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals

Agroamerica contributes to Guatemala’s Food and Nutritional Security and the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals

Guatemala, November 2011. For the past two years Agroamerica has been implementing the Better Families program in 12 rural communities across the country. A self-help program, Better Families focuses on improving the health conditions, nutrition and social behavior among beneficiary families. Among its goals are to reduce malnutrition and infant mortality rates, improve school performance among boys and girls, as well as to improve productivity and community development. To date 11,900 people have benefited from this program, including 750 mothers and 880 children.

Better Families targets women directly, who after training become relays of important information within their families and their communities. They learn about self esteem, health, hygiene, nutrition, care for the environment and child growth, among other topics. To verify knowledge competence program technical staff make periodic home visits, where they also conduct weight and height measurements of children under five years of age, and learned practices are reinforced with activities such as medical and gynecological fairs involving the whole community.

Walter Tello, program coordinator in the South Coast, noted that he has observed significant changes in the communities where Better Families is implemented. Beneficiary families have shown to have improved health habits, including the increased use of safe water for consumption. Also, the program has improved the capacity of participating mothers to make better decisions regarding their family?s health, which has resulted in fewer cases of diarrheal diseases and lower maternal and infant mortality rates. With improved self-esteem, women are better able to identify early the symptoms of breast and cervical cancer, as well as to improve the nutritional intake of their children’s diet.

Participating woman Odilia Guzmán Soto from the village of Chiquirines expresses her satisfaction with the program: “I feel very happy because I have learned how to take better care of my children, to improve the health habits around my home, and to better value and appreciate myself as a woman and as a person.”

Agroamerica also provides assistance to special cases of child malnutrition, offering medical help, food and care during their convalescence. The company is part of the Provincial Food and Nutritional Security Commission (CODESAN), which along with government entities and other NGOs is in the process of designing a Food and Nutritional Strategic Plan to address the problem of malnutrition in the coastal region.

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Flota de caminones AgroAmérica

Agroamerica gets new fleet of high technology trucks to improve service

Agroamerica gets new fleet of high technology trucks to improve service

Guatemala, October 2011. Agroamerica recently acquired a fleet of 20 new trucks with the latest technological innovations to improve efficiency and customer service. The head of Agroamerica’s transportation division remarked that the new fleet of trucks is equipped with special features based on the terrain and driving conditions of the segment trucks use to deliver fruit to the port. The companies Kenilworth and Cummins designed the “Mayatrucks” for exclusive use of AgroAmerica. “This will allow us to improve efficiency and performance”, said the company official.

Agroamerica has an innovative training program for the drivers of the fleet. They receive theoretical and hands-on classes in top-of-the-line truck simulators, and after completing the courses, they are certified to drive any type of truck or load and drivers receive a diploma endorsed by the Ministry of Education in a technical discipline. “We believe that with this program we are contributing to road safety of our country”, said the head of the division.

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Capacitación en civismo AgroAmérica

Agroamérica trained its personnel in Civics in preparation for the General Elections held on September 11th of this year

Agroamerica, Civics, general elections 2011, Guatemala, vote, voting

Guatemala, September 2011. In order to foster a positive attitude and encourage a sense of civic duty in its employees to vote responsibly and conscientiously, Agroamérica together with the civic association, GuateÁmala, conducted a workshop whose theme was “Building a Culture of Citizenship”.

More than 1,300 employees from the farms and administrative offices participated in the workshop which initially trained the first group of participants who were then responsible for passing on their training to the next group and so on. The methodology utilized in the workshop included a series of reflections and dialogues about citizenship and community development designed to awaken the desire to become a part of the change needed in Guatemala.

The first part of the workshop focused on describing to the participants the Guatemala that we want to build. The second part was to teach them that, together, we form a part of the democratic government and are stewards of it. In the third part, the participants were encouraged to learn the responsibilities of each public office represented in the general elections and evaluate each candidate’s political platform in order to be able to vote intelligently. At the end of the workshop, the participants made a promise to pass this important knowledge on to the people within their spheres of influence.

Several of the participants of this workshop expressed that they now feel better informed and motivated to go and vote:
“The dynamics of the workshop changed our understanding of how to vote in the upcoming elections.”
“We women now feel very enthusiastic about voting; for some of us, it will be our first time. This workshop has motivated us to vote more conscientiously.”
“Many of us were not aware that during the voting process we would be given five different colored ballots. Now we clearly understand how to vote.”

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Jornada médica en Coatepeque AgroAmérica

Agroamerica organized a free medical care clinic in two towns of Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango

Agroamerica organized a free medical care clinic in two towns of Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango

Agroamérica, through their Corporate Social Responsibility Program, Better Families, offered a free medical clinic day in two villages of Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango, Los Encuentros and Las Ventanas.

The doctors and nurses who came from Xelajú, attended more than 200 people (adults and children), mostly relatives of Agroamerica workers. Medical staff treated respiratory diseases, diarrhea and skin infections and provided the medicine.

Agroamérica undertook the activity together with Oficina de la Mujer, the wife of the Mayor of Coatepeque and the Episcopal Diocese of San Marcos.

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Construcción de la borda AgroAmérica

Agroamérica reinforced the riverbanks and dredged the Mico River to protect the communities from flooding

Agroamérica reinforced the riverbanks and dredged the Mico River to protect the communities from flooding

Guatemala, September 2011. As part of their social responsibility program, Agroamérica collaborated with local communities to help build up the riverbanks and dredge the Mico River in the town of Huitzitzil in Tiquisate, Escuintla. This river was negatively affected by hurricane Agatha last year. The company invested $6,000.00 U.S. dollars in the project in the form of machinery, materials, fuel, and labor. The project was undertaken in conjunction with the municipality of Tiquisate.

This riverbank reinforcement benefitted a number of communities that are isolated by the flooding of the Mico River. With the arrival of the rainy season, the inhabitants of these communities live in fear of having their homes and possessions carried away by flood waters in this disaster prone area. Another problem caused by the flooding of the Mico River is the destruction of the main highway, which also cuts off their ability to communicate with the rest of the country.

The towns that benefitted from this project were Huitzitzil, San Francisco Madre Vieja, Las Trozas, El Semillero and Ticanlú in the Municipality of Tiquisate, Escuintla. The inhabitants of these towns and the Mayor of Tiquisate expressed their appreciation for Agroamérica?s help and support.

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