Covance-CARE Partnership in Rwanda

Stepping Up to the World's Challenges

Meet Sawuda, who lives in Rwanda, Africa, along with her parents and four brothers. Her home is very simple with a living area, a kitchen and a latrine. The family farm barely provides for their needs and school is a luxury they simply cannot afford. Thankfully, they don't have to.

To mark the company's 10-year anniversary in 2007, Covance donated $300,000 to the non-profit organization CARE to build three day-care centers and renovate two nursery schools in Rwanda, an area ravaged by the AIDS pandemic. The Covance CARE Early Childhood Development Initiative for Orphans and Vulnerable Children partnership provided enough money not only for Sawuda and her brothers to attend school, but also for 445 other children ages 3 through 6, in the southern region of Kamonyi District. Covance is also supporting the operation of the centers and schools to provide a safe and secure environment and assist in their physical, emotional and cognitive development.

"We could have given all the employees some kind of anniversary memento to display on their desks," says Deborah Tanner, Executive Vice President and Group President, R&D Laboratories. "Instead, we gave hope to hundreds of families. What started out as a small gesture blossomed into a concerted, multi-year partnership that has changed the lives of hundreds of people."

Employees responded enthusiastically and through the company's matching gifts program, employees quickly raised additonal funds for toys, study aids and shelters. Together with CARE, Covance will help develop sustainable learning environments that will help empower and shape these children, who are the future of Rwanda.

Click here to read more about Covance's commitment to corporate social responsibility.