Renault Trucks is extending its partnership with the World Food Programme for another three years, during which volunteer staff members will visit WFP sites in central and western Africa to train mechanics and fleet managers.
To help the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) carry out its mission of delivering food assistance and working with communities to become more self-reliant, Renault Trucks deployed a mobile training unit in eastern Africa in 2012. Following the success of these first years of partnership, the unit will now be deployed to central and western African countries. The unit is staffed by volunteers who will instruct WFP mechanics in the maintenance and repair of the vehicles used to take food supplies to those in need, often in difficult conditions and over rough terrain. The volunteers also provide training in fleet and workshop management.
Julie Marconnet, Head of Sponsoring and Patronage at Renault Trucks, explained how the company contributes to the programme. “In many of the world’s most impoverished regions, trucks provide a key link in carrying food to those who need it most, often in cases where lives are at risk. By sharing its technical expertise, Renault Trucks ensures the WFP vehicles’ maximum operational availability and helps its operations run more smoothly.”
As part of the partnership, the volunteer staff members will be travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Chad and Uganda over the next three years. Altogether, 150 World Food Programme mechanics, workshop managers, fleet managers and trainers will benefit from this instruction between now and 2017.
