By Anyway Yotamu
One of the country’s cooking oil manufacturer, Pure Oil through its brand ZimGold has donated cooking oil to underprivileged homes in Chitungwiza as part of their ZimGold Givers community social responsibility initiatives meant to assist needy families during this Covid-19 pandemic period.
Speaking to this publication, Lesley Gibbons said the cooking oil donation was distributed through Lynde Francis Trust,
“Pure Oil Industries was formed with a big vision to not only make a profit but to also serve the society and impact it in a positive and meaningful way. We combine all our community welfare initiatives under one umbrella which we call ZIMGOLD GIVERS. Each year we engage in different community programs that help benefit the masses,” she said.
“This year, as ZimGold Givers, we are assisting those that we identified as Zimgold community heroes last year and some charity organisations to continue the humanitarian work they have been doing and feed some families who have been heavily affected due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. We have started with Lynde Francis Trust and, we are targeting to assist five such organisations and Zimgold Givers community heroes in the next few months,” she said.
“Products like cooking oil and soap are basic necessities that every family should have, yet many families are struggling to get these. Through the Zimgold Givers initiative, we have committed ourselves to give cooking oil to families in need” she said
The Zimgold Givers community’s heroes will distribute the products to the families in need in the communities they serve.
She further added that “we’re glad that the Zimgold Givers CSR initiative is expanding. Apart from offering relief groceries, we are also stretching our helping hand to education. Last year, we launched Zimgold Scholarships, and two beneficiaries- Lovejoy Gushungo and Sosten Magweva got a lifetime opportunity to pursue their master’s studies in India at the Institute of Technology Palakkad (IIT).
The students are currently in India, studying Mechanical Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering, respectively. This year again, we will continue to invest in education by awarding scholarships to beneficiaries who will be announced soon,” said Gibbons.
The Chitungwiza donation is coming after Pure Oil this year gave cooking oil, soaps, and blankets to all the frontline workers who were working during the Corona virus-induced lockdown. The donated goods were handed over to His Excellency, President Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa at a ceremony held at the statehouse.
Last year, Zimgold Givers assisted survivors of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani.
Pure Oil Industries was incorporated in Zimbabwe in 2012 initially as a joint venture between ETG/Vamara & Parrogate Zimbabwe. The first commercial production started in 2013. National Foods then bought an equity stake in the company in 2016.
The business is now an established processor of edible oil, primarily soya bean, cotton, palm, and sunflower, and canola oil with the leading brand being “ZIMGOLD”.
“We also do oil seed extraction with a capacity to crush soya beans, cotton seeds, and sunflower seeds. In the process, we also produce soya meals, cotton cakes, and sunflower cake for the stock feed industry. To support the local farmers, we also embarked on a backward integration strategy which led to the birth of our contract farming Scheme in 2016. We have continued to expand our product portfolio to include “ZIMBRITE” laundry soap, “PUROLA” canola cooking oil, “ZIMGOLD” margarine and “OLEO” bakers’ fat.”