Clouds of smoke waft from traditional wood stoves used by many rural Peruvian families to cook- so much smoke, in fact, that it appears the homes are on fire.
The smoke exposes these families - including pregnant women and children - to toxic substances that exceed 10 to 20 times the maximum permissible limits recommended by the World Health Organization. In fact, the daily preparation of food affects the whole family, causing breathing deficiencies and diseases that will intensify over years of daily exposure.
To address this calamity, the Peruvian government launched its "Half a Million Upgraded Stoves for a Smoke-free Peru" campaign in hopes of improving quality of life by installing better stoves.
Mine Jumps In Newmont's Minera Yanacocha is doing its part too. In August, the company kicked off a similar campaign, "Supportive Families Building Upgraded Kitchens." About 100 mine employees joined Carlos Santa Cruz, Newmont senior vice president, South America Operations, to volunteer their time and make personal donations to fund kitchen upgrades in neighboring villages.
The year-long initiative will improve the quality of life for nearly 1,000 families around the mine site. Teams of volunteer employees are working in shifts of 100 to complete the kitchen upgrades. It is anticipated the new kitchens will improve health, alleviate depression caused by toxic fumes, improve the environment and save fuel.
"It is not about giving money for an act of social charity, but about committing ourselves and participating in saving thousands of children and adults at risk in our community from being seriously harmed," Santa Cruz said. "The integration of workers and their families with our neighbors will allow us to know each other and value each other as people. Minera Yanacocha is not an abstract being, but a group of Peruvian men and women with a heart - wanting the best for us, for our neighbors, for the region and for the country."
ELT Opens Up Wallets When members of Newmont's Executive Leadership Team (ELT) toured the mine, they witnessed firsthand the commitment and generosity of the work force. The executives then committed to personally donate $2,830 each, which will finance 100 new stoves for residents living in and around Yanacocha's operations and projects.
"We appreciate the ELT's support to drive this truly life-changing program that will help develop relationships with the communities and provide future generations with a much better quality of life," Santa Cruz said.
