JOIN Activities of EMEA* Teleflex employees in 2021
JOIN Act with Purpose is an employee-driven initiative by Teleflex to help give back to their communities. At Teleflex, we believe that what we do every day makes a difference. The initiative is underpinned by the four pillars of community, humanitarian aid, the environment and the economy – and sustainability is the central theme that runs through these pillars. Under the umbrella of JOIN, employees around the world took part and supported a wide variety of campaigns. JOIN reminds each of us that we all have the power to make a meaningful contribution and make a positive impact in the world.
Our global JOIN theme for 2021 focused on protecting nature, sustainable agriculture and caring for our natural environment. Therefore, last year took on the theme: “RESTORE OUR EARTH”.
The five EMEA areas Indirect Business, Austria, Germany, Iberia and Poland jointly organized a virtual run from the start of July until the end of August to support one of the poorest countries in Africa – Sierra Leone – through the non-profit organization “Association Sierra Leone Baden-Württemberg e.V.”.
The civil war, which lasted over 11 years in the 1990s, has left deep social and economic wounds that have not yet healed. The movie Blood Diamond with Leonardo di Caprio in the leading role gives a good basic overview of the events that happened. While the situation is beginning to normalize, it has been set back by the Ebola pandemic in 2014 – 2016 and is currently endangered by Coronavirus.
The association is small and operates entirely on a voluntary basis, so that all funds are used exclusively for the benefit of the state and its people. Furthermore, the association is committed to helping with the reconstruction of the infrastructure so that the people can rebuild a better life and livelihood in their country. The criteria for the work of the association are that it helps people to help themselves and promotes individual initiative among citizens. In the spirit of helping people to help themselves, the association has been supporting specific projects in the north of the country since 2003:
- in agriculture
- in the field of health
- and in school education
Teleflex employees organized an 8,000 km challenge as team – this represents the route from Warsaw (Poland) via Vienna (Austria), Fellbach (Germany), Le Faget (France), Madrid (Spain) to Freetown in Sierra Leone. The virtual run could be done as a hiking tour, Nordic walk, on bike or by a run. Teleflex Leadership promised to donate 10,000 euros to this project if the goal of 8,000 kilometers was reached.
In the end, all involved employees managed to meet their goals and the JOIN Team was able to donate the full amount of 10,000 euros to the association.
As a medical device company, Teleflex wants to support the association especially in the field of health. We want to implement the following projects within the scope of our JOIN activities. For one, the association has established a health station with eight beds that treats up to 200 patients per week. The nearest major hospital is 80 km away, and people are usually unable to reach it due to lack of roads and transportation.
Two years ago, a well for water was built and in future solar panels for energy production will be installed so the facility can provide more and better help. This facility needs to be further expanded to ensure it can operate continuously throughout all seasons. It is also essential that the health station is equipped with all necessary devices (e.g. ultrasound) and all disposable materials.
The farmers which are supported by the association need a new tractor in order to be able to cultivate the farmland more efficiently. This is because a new tractor will make farming more accessible to farmers in Sierra Leone. It will provide affordable and reliable mechanization services and will facilitate the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices. Here, our JOIN events help farmers to directly increase their productivity and standards of living.
Above you can see some pictures of Teleflex employees on hiking tours among beautiful scenery. With this campaign we are delighted to contribute towards helping Sierra Leone on the way to a better future.
Image: Teleflex
* EMEA: Europe, Middle East, Africa
