Lavazza and Save the Children Providing Job Skills to Marginalised Youth

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Chennai, November 7, 2017: Lavazza, Italy’s leading coffee roaster continues to build on its partnership with Save the Children through the initiative – “New Horizons: Empowering Adolescents and Youths in slums of Urban Kolkata” which is aimed at combatting social and economic marginalisation and providing a better future to youngsters from impoverished backgrounds in the city of Kolkata. This pilot project stemmed from the strong relationship with the NGO. It was also the first time that the Turin-based company has taken direct action in India. The initiative was also made possible due to the generous contribution of coffee machines used for the training by WEGA, which took place between October 30 and November 4, in Kolkata.

Lavazza and Save the Children aspire to offer marginalised adolescents a new outlook on life. The goal is to aid children coming from abusive and exploited situations; help them enter the labour market through training for jobs suited to the restaurant and hotel sector.

Save the Children selected 15 disadvantaged youngsters between 18 and 30 years of age for a training course run by a Lavazza trainer from the Turin Training Center. They also received advice from local professionals, as part of a process designed to introduce them to the labour market.

“This initiative is further confirmation of Lavazza’s commitment to protecting children’s rights by offering young people new opportunities for a future that lives up to their aspirations,” commented Mario Cerutti, Chief Institutional Relations & Sustainability Officer, Lavazza Group. He goes on to say that, “We are more than proud of our long partnership with Save the Children since it lets us promote and support initiatives that truly improve the conditions of communities in the most disadvantaged areas of the country, and offer them tools to build their own future. Coffee is our mission and we see an extraordinary opportunity in being able to share all of our expertise in this area while also concretely laying the foundation to improve the lives of the young people who will participate in the project.”

“For many years now, Lavazza has been at Save the Children’s side supporting initiatives that help the most vulnerable children, but this project in particular is the most significant to-date. For a young person who is forced to live in extreme marginal conditions, engaging in a professional skills course such as this one provides an opportunity that truly makes a difference and can dramatically improve lives. In this sense, Lavazza for us is a private partner who not only has the vision of helping others with financial resources, but also by sharing their professional skills and competencies, helping to build projects with a real sustainable impact,” says Valerio Neri, CEO of Save the Children, Italy.