Emergency relief
On the day the tsunami hit, our Indian business Hindustan Lever immediately sprang into action. Employees at our factories and offices in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala pulled together to provide emergency relief to tsunami-hit people. The relief operations included distribution of bread and biscuits to over 500 families in Pondicherry; 12 000 cooked meals for families in Chennai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Andamans; and over 12 000 packs of dry rations and personal hygiene products.
The company committed Rs.80 million (€1.4 million) for immediate relief of the tsunami-hit areas of Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The money was used to help people restore their homes and start to resume their livelihoods. Over half this contribution was put towards distributing Unilever foods and personal hygiene products for people’s emergency needs.
Hindustan Lever employees also donated a day's salary – totalling Rs 5.1 million or around €90 100 - to help people get back on their feet in the aftermath of the tsunami.
Helping to rebuild lives
In November 2005, we used our employees' contribution and company-matched funding (Rs.30 million or €535 000) to provide new housing for the tsunami victims. Working in partnership with the Government of Tamil Nadu, we donated 5.27 acres of land (with a market value of around Rs.45 million / €800 000) in the city of Chennai. The state government then used this land to construct nearly 1 000 permanent houses for families affected by the tsunami. Our employees' contribution was used to provide a nursery school, community hall and a ration shop for the site's new residents.
