Kentz strives to become an active member of the communities in
which we operate; and we support a number of charitable, social,
recreational, wellbeing and cultural initiatives.
During 2012, Kentz continued its global partnership with
WaterAid, a non-governmental organisation focused on improving
access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest
communities. In addition to this, regional offices and project
teams undertook projects in their local areas to support
educational, cultural and sustainable initiatives. A few examples
of these projects are outlined below.
Madagascar
In February 2012, the east coast of Madagascar was struck
by one of the worst cyclones the country has experienced. One of
Kentz's key construction and technical support services contracts
is based on the island with the Ambatovy nickel project, and as a
result the Company gave money to CARE®, a leading humanitarian
organisation fighting global poverty. CARE was one of the first
organisations to carry out assessments in the affected areas and
Kentz's donation went towards distributing relief goods, including
emergency shelter and food, to those affected by the cyclone. In
total, CARE assisted 8,654 households, distributed 102 tonnes of
food and re-opened 44.5km of roadways destroyed during the storm.
Work is continuing towards providing infrastructure repair and
economic development programmes to help the people of Madagascar to
rebuild their lives following the disaster.
The Kentz project team based on the Ambatovy Project also helped
19 local facilities during the year, by donating a selection of
excess office equipment such as desktop computers, filing cabinets,
chairs, desks, white boards, safes and printers. The facilities
that received the donations included day care centres for
underprivileged children and those with special needs, health
centres, schools and clinics. In order to identify deserving local
centres and charities, the Kentz team sought the assistance of HELP
Madagascar, a non-profit organisation working in Madagascar since
1999. Through their support, Kentz was able to reach a wider range
and demographic of centres throughout the region.
South Africa
In July 2012, Kentz was delighted to officially open a
new container kitchen that it donated to the Kagiso Living Waters
Bible Church in Krugersdorp, West Johannesburg, South Africa. The
30m2 soup kitchen, with hot running water, lighting,
electricity connections, kitchen cupboards, food distribution
boards, steel doors and steel windows, will be used by the Church
for its nutrition scheme to feed homeless and disadvantaged members
of the community.
Kentz also provided much needed renovations to the Kopamalang
Thuto School on the outskirts of Zamdela Township in Sasolburg
during 2012. Like many underprivileged township schools, the
Kopamalang Thuto School was originally designed to cater for 800
students; however, the number of students has swelled to over 1,400
children. Conrad van der Heever, FT Wax Plant Project Construction
HR/IR Manager, initially visited the school on behalf of Kentz and
recognised that it was in drastic need of an effective water
reticulation system that would help with sewage and waste water
removal problems. Due to overcrowding and a lack of basic hygiene
principles, the school lavatory system was in extremely poor
condition. Kentz took immediate action and, within a few weeks, a
completely new reticulation system was installed at the school. A
10,000-litre purification tank was also donated and installed on
the school premises, allowing the purified water to run from the
current septic tank to the new irrigation system. The pump will
allow the school to adequately pump water throughout the
property.
Botswana
In August 2012, Kentz donated a 16 seater school bus,
along with a library and computer centre to the children of the
Mpule Kwelagobe Children's Centre in Jwaneng, Botswana. Kentz has
been very active in the region over the last three years and was
delighted to give back to the children's centre.
Sakhalin
Kentz has been involved on projects in the oil-rich
Sakhalin Island in Far East Russia since 2003, so the team was
proud to contribute to the newly-built Sakhalin Technical Oil and
Gas institute in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, which was officially opened in
December 2012. The Oil and Gas Institute project was implemented
through a large-scale support of the Sakhalin Government and the
Sakhalin-1 Consortium.
Kentz managed the completion of works associated with the
finishing of the institute for Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), who
was heavily involved in funding the project. Kentz provided these
services to the institute free of charge. The Company's involvement
in the project took approximately a month to complete. Its scope of
work included electrical systems, plumbing and HVAC systems, as
well as structural and architectural finishes in classrooms and
laboratories. In addition to this, it procured the materials
required for both construction and also for final finishing prior
to the institute's official opening ceremony, including all
necessary window blinds for the classrooms. Prior to the opening of
the institute, Kentz carried out a Health, Safety and Environment
(HSE) audit of the building and subsequent to this, procured and
installed all necessary safety signage and fire extinguishers in
the building. Kentz was delighted to participate in this project
which will be instrumental in the creation of a whole generation of
Sakhalin-based oil and gas professionals that will contribute to
the industry, both in Russia and further afield.