Local brewer, SKOL Brewery Ltd, on Friday, December 2, donated health insurance support to over 120 families living in the brewer’s neighborhood in Nzove.

The support is part of the company’s routine corporate social responsibility initiatives towards the community where the brewer commits its annual support to the neighboring community by paying the Community Based Health Insurance (Mutuel de Santé).

While a total of 59 residents from 123 families benefited from SKOL’s support in the 2022-23 finncial year, the brewer has been supporting the community with "Mutuel de Santé” since more than 4 years, covering for more than 2,500 people.

Handing over insurance premiums on Friday, SKOL Chief Executive Ivan Wulffaert, said the company committed its support in giving out health insurance premiums to ensure a healthy community among the communities around its neighborhood.

"The reason why we do this is because we feel that our presence in this area has a lot of positive effects but sometimes we also owe something to people that surround us and we want to give something back to the community. That’s why they are supporting people that are not able to afford Mutuelle Sante,” Wulffaert said.

"We have regularly supported the community and I think, in the coming months or next year we will have something for the community,” he added.

Figures indicate that 92 per cent of the total population in Nzove Cell have health insurance premiums and Ignace Kabasha, the cell executive secretary, hailed the brewer’s continued support in efforts to ensure that all people are ensured.

"Our insurance coverage is short of 8 percent and we thank SKOL for the support which we believe is already helping reduce the number of people without insurance,” Kabasha said.

Beneficiaries hailed SKOL’s commitment to bringing initiatives aimed at positively changing their lives, most importantly, making sure that their health is insured through its support.

"We are so grateful that SKOL continues to play an integral role in bringing positive impact to our lives. Many of us weren’t able to afford the health insurance and, with SKOL’s support, we are at least guaranteed that we can access health services,” said Constantin Hagenimana, one of the beneficiaries.

Apart from contributing to the well-being of the community by ensuring good health to the people, SKOL has, since its establishment, supported and invested in the community around the brewer’s plant from different angles including education, food security and creating jobs for the people in the neighborhood.

The company, for instance, distributed school uniforms to children studying at Nzove Primary School, and then donated rice to the communities hit the most by the Covid-19 pandemic. It also created employment opportunities where more than 60% of its employees are from the surroundings.