INDIAN
High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Sandeep Arya (at the podium), speaks
at the brief ceremony where Kamal Group donated 60 artificial limbs
worth 240m/- to 60 impaired Dar es Salaam residents. Seated from left
are permanent secretaries, Dr Adelhelm Meru (Natural Resources and
Tourism), Mr Uledi Musa (Industry and Trade), Dr Donan Mmbando (Health
and Social Welfare), former Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and the
Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) Chairman, Dr Reginald Mengi.
(Photo by Our Correspondent)
During the brief ceremony graced by the
former Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda, Kamal Group donated 60 artificial
limbs worth over 240m/- to needy Dar es Salaam residents. Tanzania has
total of 2.6 million people who have different disabilities of whom
525,019 have physical impairment.
“Everybody is a prospective disabled
person and therefore we need to take care of them, respecting them as
members of our society,” said Mr Pinda, urging the rich to emulate,
Kamal Group in setting aside part of their gains to help the needy
people in the society,” he said.
He asked the Permanent Secretaries from
the Ministries of Industry Trade and Tourism and Natural Resources who
attended the ceremony to convey the message to the government to turn
its attention to the disabled people.
Also, the company donated about 40
hearing aid equipment to the needy Dar es Salaam residents who are
unable to hear due to different health complications. The Director of
Kamal Group, Mr Sameer Gupta the donation was based on the philosophy of
growing with communities that the company launched the initiative of
helping people with disabilities since last year.
“We believe that our growth is anchored
in the wellbeing of communities in which we operate,” he said. Kamal
Group holds an International Standard Organisation (ISO 9001:2008)
certification in steel production.
The Chairman and Managing Director of
Kamal Group, Mr Gagan Gupta said, the company decided to bring experts
from India so they can help in the task of manufacturing the artificial
limbs right at the company’s Steel factory in Dar es Salaam.
“Our intention is to ensure that the
disabled people are capable to go to their working places and can help
in building Tanzania’s economy…. Since we have a world-class steel
production line here, we only need raw materials and experts to do the
work here and that is what we have done,” said Mr Gagan Gupta.
The experts in question includes group
of doctors from an organisation that is known as ‘Bharat Vikas Parishad
Viklang Kendra Paldi’, who were led by Mr Upendra Jani. Later on the
project will eventually be extended to Arusha and Mwanza.
According to the National Chairman for
Tanzania Association of the Disabled, known by its Kiswahili acronym as
Chawata, Mr John Paul Mlabu, one needs up to 4m/- to purchase just a
single artificial limb in various hospitals in the country, indicating
that the value of 60 limbs goes to an astounding 240m/- “It is an
expensive exercise and that is why we are thankful to Kamal for helping
us this much,” said Mr Mlabu, calling upon other corporate bodies to
emulate.
He said the country has over two million
people who are handicapped and thus, need such products. Unfortunately,
it is only less than 20 per cent who can actually get access to the
products.
Apart from helping the disabled, Kamal
Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility programs are directed towards
education, orphanages and women empowerment.
The company is also running a campaign
known as ‘Food for Children’ that seeks to promote education by
providing meals to 1,250 children in two schools of Nzasa Primary in
Ilala District and Kerege Primary in Bagamoyo District every day.
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