Media Release
Chocos is a small village surviving on subsistence farming at 3000 meters above sea level in the Peruvian Andes
Basel, 15 August 2008
Roche and the Chocos Village Project in Peru: making a lasting difference to people’s lives
Roche supports rebuilding of Andean village devasted in earthquake in 2007
Today Roche gave a progress report on the reconstruction of Chocos, a village in the Peruvian Andes that was heavily affected by a devastating earthquake on 15 August 2007. After immediately sending emergency and first aid materials to the region, Roche decided to make a lasting difference by helping to reconstruct the destroyed village. The project is funded by Roche and by Re&Act, the Roche Employee Action and Charity Trust. Re&Act, Roche and the inhabitants of Chocos work together to provide the expertise needed to rebuild the village.
Many of the houses in the Andean village – including the school – had collapsed in the earthquake, leaving the inhabitants with no shelter or infrastructure. Accordingly there was an urgent need to re-establish at least basic living conditions. Since immediate post-earthquake aid focused on the densely populated coastal area, a village like Chocos, located 200 km south of Lima, could hardly expect to be given priority status. In its efforts to help the villagers rebuild their community, Roche is working with local authorities and partners who share the company’s commitment to long-term solutions and who are prepared to make appropriate contributions of their own. Since the start of the project, Roche has supported the construction of a dam that will aid economic and social recovery. The dam will substantially enhance quality of life in the village. Chocos’ inhabitants are given the skills, technical supervision and materials they need to rebuild their houses. By organising themselves efficiently, they were soon able to start restoring the local secondary school and adding extra classroom space. The villagers also built a roof for the community centre in Chocos. At present, they are making the mud bricks they will need to build houses under the supervision of specialists.
Roche’s Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics affiliates in Peru liaised to help the people of Chocos. Over and above our primary role as an innovative healthcare business, Roche has a long tradition of supporting humanitarian projects in association with local organisations”, commented Miguel-Angel Marco, Country Manager of Roche Diagnostics. “Our aims are to provide material assistance, to work with the inhabitants of Chocos to rebuild the village, to ensure people get their homes back and to improve their future perspectives”.
Taking action: the Re&Act Roche Employee Action and Charity Trust
Activities at Chocos are supported both by company funds and by Roche’s Employee Action and Charity Trust, Re&Act. This trust was set up to support humanitarian and community rebuilding projects for ongoing programmes and as a long-term response to disasters. It capitalises on expertise and knowledge within the Roche organisation and allows employees to get involved in sustainable projects. For example it has raised nearly CHF 4 million through Roche’s AIDS Walk, the annual event at which more than 10,000 employees collect money to support orphans in Malawi.
Vivian L. Beetle, secretary of the Re&Act Board of Trustees commented: “Rebuilding Chocos is a tangible example of how Roche and its employees want to support disaster relief projects in a focused and sustainable way. Roche is glad to make a difference through Re&Act”.
About the Peruvian earthquake in 2007
On 15 August 2007 a region 200 km south of Lima, Peru was shaken by a very strong earthquake that reached 7.9 on the Richter scale. The natural disaster destroyed many of the mud brick houses that are typical of the region leaving 500 dead, 2000 injured and 100,000 homeless. The worst affected areas are the coastal cities around Pisco and Cañete. The population of Peru and the worldwide community, including Roche, responded promptly to help the people hit by the earthquake, sending emergency materials, food and other essential first aid. Such humanitarian aid deliveries focused mainly on the coastal towns. As priority was given to the densely populated coastal region, there were no further resources to assist highland communities in reconstructing their villages.
Roche support for the people hit by the Sichuan earthquake
Roche was also involved in the emergency relief effort in Sichuan in line with its commitment to providing immediate assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters. After a major earthquake hit the Chinese province of Sichuan on 12 May 2008, Roche provided medicines and financial aid through the local Red Cross. The medical relief consisted of more than 53,000 vials of Rocephin, which were delivered for use by medical aid teams.
About Roche’s Policy on Donations and non-commercial Sponsorship
Roche has a clear and consistent corporate “Policy on Donations and non-commercial Sponsorship” to ensure consistency and alignment throughout the Roche organisation. The philosophy behind the policy stems from Roche’s longstanding tradition of sharing its business success with people who may not be in a position to directly benefit from our primary business activity. Roche’s donations represent additional contributions to society that express our commitment and responsibility in the broader contexts of humanitarian needs, culture, education and the environment.
Roche’s approach to giving mirrors its innovation culture and sustainable business model in that it focuses on efficiency, equality and potential impact rather than on cost. By developing and implementing innovative solutions in partnership with suitable local partners, the simplest actions can often result in more lasting improvements. Success and value are not gauged by material return on investment.
By supporting the Chocos Village Project, Roche and its employees are once again providing a more long-term solution that will make a lasting improvement to health, education and economic opportunity
About the Roche Employee and Charity Trust
As created by the company in concert with employee interests, Re&Act does not accept requests for support or fundraising by other external charities or causes. Unsolicited appeals will not be funded.
Re&Act is especially designed to match the motivation and generosity of people within Roche to humanitarian needs and rebuilding programmes in the least developed countries by tapping into the company’s knowledge and resources. By creating a mechanism to channel such donations and by accessing the company’s knowledge and assets, it guarantees that funds are carefully managed and that projects are prudently selected and monitored.
People from outside Roche are free to donate to the Re&Act’s work and their donations will go to assist selected projects supported by Re&Act.
See http://react.roche.com for more details about Re&Act.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world’s biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, and is a market leader in virology. It is also active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and metabolic disorders and diseases of the central nervous system. In 2007 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 36.8 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 9.3 billion francs. Roche has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai, and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D in 2007. Worldwide, the Group employs about 80,000 people. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.roche.com.
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