LG builds a self-supported farming center in Ethiopia

At Guta village in Sendafa Woreda, Ethiopia, which is populated by 760 people, residents had to access to drinking water from a puddle. Polluted with animal waste, the water carried infectious diseases. In dry season when even a mud puddle couldn`t be found, people had to walk more than 10 kilometers to get water. Due to disease and poverty, the average life expectancy of village residents was around 40 years.

Korean conglomerate LG Group said Monday that it successfully constructed a joint well in Guta village on April 16, the first part of its "LG Hope Community Project," a program dedicated to turn its underdeveloped villages into self-supported farming centers. The 150-meter deep well in Guta, which can dig 5 liters of water per second, not only provides drinking water to the residents but also helps operate a 13,200 square meter farm.

Going forward, LG is seeking to support improving infrastructure for the village, create pilot farms and foster village leaders by 2015. Student volunteers from Cheonan Yonam College, which is run by the LG Yonam Educational Foundation, will join the project by educating Ethiopians on how to raise specialized crops and cattle. In addition, LG Electronics will supply electricity to remote villages using its solar panels.

In an effort to promote corporate social responsibility, LG Electronics is the first company in Korea to establish a corporate social responsibility branch. Ten labor union heads at electronics-related affiliates, including LG Electronics and LG Display, visited Guta village to seek ways to promote Union Social Responsibility.

Besides creating a hope village, LG will build a Hope Vocational School and expand scholarship for descendants of Korean War veterans. "The latest corporate social responsibility activities have meaning in creating a self-supporting base for the African nation," said Kim Yeong-ki, vice president at LG Group`s Corporate Social Responsibility team. "We will spread the spirit of love to Ethiopia through LG`s differentiated corporate social responsibility activities."

nex@donga.com