Anniversary project for 2008/2009
The MIT (Make an Impact on Tomorrow) Initiative celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2008. The proud MIT record is that, to date, more than 4,000 Henkel employees and retirees have been involved in around 7,000 projects in more than 110 countries. As a special present to mark this anniversary, Henkel put aside special funds amounting to 100,000 euros for a selected project. From the 86 entries, the “HELPS Changing Lives” project in Guatemala was chosen. Through this donation and with the active support of an international MIT team, 120 families will be helped to help themselves.
The HELPS Changing Lives project
Extreme poverty, the danger of open fires, lack of clean water, and low agricultural productivity are typical of day-to-day life in many rural areas of Guatemala.
The objectives of the project are the advancement of schooling for children, access to clean water, the construction of a health center, and the improvement of agricultural productivity.
What makes the project special is the fact that, for the first time, an international team of Henkel employees will be joining forces in Guatemala to actively support the project. Six employees will be coming from various Henkel regions to help, working with the U.S. HELPS International aid organization and approximately 20 Henkel employees from the local Henkel sites.
The international team will be coordinated by a Henkel employee who has been working in Guatemala for two years and who submitted the project for the MIT anniversary. With Henkel’s support, she has already implemented four MIT projects, in Mexico, Argentina and Georgia. After several trips to the rural regions of her new home, Guatemala, she became very concerned about the poverty and hopelessness she encountered in the villages. “Life is especially hard for women in Guatemala,” she explains. “They are married off very early and have practically no chance of obtaining an education. I am looking forward to working on this project, which will be carried out collaboratively by the community, the HELPS organization and Henkel.”