CAPE TOWN - One of the world’s largest foods and beverage companies, Nestlé, has donated more than 200 000 litres of potable water to Herbertsdale, a small community near Mossel Bay, in the Western Cape, as part of Covid-19 relief efforts.
Nestlé chairman and managing director for the east and southern African regions, Bruno Olierhoek, said on Wednesday that the donation was made to not only ensure fresh drinking water, but to enable community members to follow Covid-19 preventative measures, such as hand washing.
Herbertsdale is one of several towns in the area that is periodically affected by severe drought, leading to charitable groups donating animal feed and other products to farmers and community members.
“This drought impact then prompted us to remodel our Nestlé dairy factory which is located in this town, to become self-sufficient in water as much as possible by using water recovered from the milk evaporation process.
“The factory now has excellent, quality recycled-water and is even able to generate energy from the process,” Olierhoek said.
Mossel Bay mayor, Harry Levendal, thanked the company for being willing to assist the community "in times of challenges".
“By assisting us in delivering a most critical resource like clean water, with your milk tankers during this challenging Covid-19 period, just re-confirms that Nestlé is taking the communities at heart,” Levendal said.
The Western Cape currently has the highest recored number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa, at 10,639. It has also reported 4,363 recoveries from the virus, and 187 deaths, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
-African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Desiree Erasmus