One week into the job and I have my first visit to a programme: a school for street children in Delhi. As I walked there, I was preparing myself for the heart-wrenching feeling I get everyday when I see so many children begging and ragpicking on the streets of Delhi.
I was given a guided tour of the Reckitt Benckiser Colombia factory today by Octavio. I finally saw how RB products are made and reviewed the improvements that have been made to the workplace environment.
In the morning, about ten of us bundled into a Save the Children minibus and headed off towards the neighbourhood of Comuna 18 on the outskirts of Cali — a city in western Colombia.
I later found out that Comuna 18 had lost 12 children last year.
A two-year-old and a four-year-old were shot in gang warfare. Ten children died from preventable diseases. The reality of the situation that children and families face every day was becoming apparent.
Feeling the tropical heat meant that I had finally arrived in Cali, which has a much warmer climate than Bogota the capital.
Save the Children’s partnership with Reckitt Benckiser (RB) has been recognised in the Corporate Engagement Awards, held in London on 19 July 2011.
After traditional speeches by the local people and an emotional one from Sandra, the parade started: a brass band, dancers to Pink Floyd as well as Beethoven.
Our path went through grass, bushes and the vegetation was getting richer remebling more a tropical forest, the closer we came to the small rivers which cross the valley.
‘I can’t believe a week has flown by and so much was accomplished! I am filled with many emotions that no words would do justice describing.
The RB volunteers are starting to see the impact of their hard work on the two creches they’re renovating in north-east Brazil.
Day 3 of the RB Global Community Challenge and the RB volunteers are making good progress with the creches and meeting some of the local children.
