From left to right: the major of 15 May district, Mohamed Hassan Hamdy, Roberto Callieri, Managing Director of Suez Cement and Ahmed El Sawy, plant manager of Helwan plant

This year, for the second consecutive year, Helwan Cement, a subsidiary of Suez Cement joined Cairo governorate and the Municipality of 15 May to sponsor the “YES to sport, NO to tobacco” marathon organized in Helwan on March 6.

In the presence of by the governor of Cairo, H.E. Abdel Azim Mussa Wazir, and the Managing Director  of Suez Cement, Roberto Callieri, more than 2,000 residents and a delegation of Suez Cement employees and their families ran together to raise awareness in the Helwan local community about the dangers of smoking and demonstrate their determination to combat tobacco use among young people.

“Convincing children to say NO to smoking and YES to sport and physical exercise is an important challenge,” said Roberto Callieri. He added: “As a socially responsible company, Suez Cement is proud to sponsor the marathon. We have always been involved in providing support for this type of initiative. Recently, in cooperation with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood we launched a number of campaigns to raise awareness about social issues relating to young people. The young are our future and it is our duty to give them the tools to help them make informed choices.”

The marathon is one of many events designed to boost social awareness promoted by Suez Cement with partners including NGOs, United Nations agencies, schools and youth centers.

The Helwan Cement and Tourah Portland Cement companies recently partnered the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood on the project entitled “For the smile of our children”, offering an annual contribution of approximately 480,000 euro to improve living standards for children and their families in the Kafr El Elw and al Maasara areas by guaranteeing access to infrastructures and basic services, notably educational facilities.

Suez Cement is also promoting the ”Salamtak Bel Donia” (“Your safety is your life”) multimedia campaign to raise awareness on Health, Hygiene and Safety in the workplace. A pilot initiative organized jointly with the International Labor Organization and the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower aiming to foster a safety culture in the cement industry and focus attention on accident prevention principles and methods.