A Broader Commitment

Finmeccanica traditionally carries out its charitable work where the need is most urgent, often working with charitable partners such as the International Childcare Trust.

Africa

For many years Finmeccanica has supported DREAM – Drug Resource Enhancement against Aids and Malnutrition. The Finmeccanica Group has chosen as its motto for Africa, the Swahili proverb ‘mwana simba ni samba’, which translates as ‘a lion cub turns into a lion’. It is supporting education in African countries with three charity projects:

Nigeria

The Festival of Science in Owerri, backed by funding and support from Finmeccanica, marks the start of a project to build a centre for teaching and spreading scientific knowledge. The centre is located in the Nigerian state of Imo, which has seven universities with more than 100,000 students, and no less than 4,000 primary and secondary schools.

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Strengthening and improving professional training. The project aims to reinforce professional training in Congo by strengthening and improving the educational and training activities of the ‘Don Bosco’ Professional Training Centre to support the young students at the College.

Cameroon

Setting up a church, school buildings and a medical camp in Mbanda, The project involves building a mini-village which will become a focal point for the local community with several workshops to teach a number of occupations, particularly in the fabric and textile sector.

Other Countries

Indonesia

For some years, since their school was destroyed in the devastating tsunami of December 2004, Finmeccanica has worked in partnership with the ‘Comunità di Sant’Egidio’, to help almost 400 children in Kamala. Thanks to the Finmeccanica employees, almost two thirds of the building is now usable again.

Sri Lanka

Finmeccanica employees continue to support the ‘Distance Adoption Project’ in Sri Lanka, alongside the International Childcare Trust. This provides around a hundred children with food and clothes, basic health care and specific medical treatment, school fees, textbooks and writing materials.

Pakistan

Thanks to the generosity of employees from within the Finmeccanica Group, those Pakistan people affected by the disastrous floods in 2010 that caused 1,700 deaths and left more than 21 million persons without a home, will now have new resources to meet their needs. 
 
The charity campaign SOS Pakistan, launched in September 2010 by SELEX Galileo on behalf of Finmeccanica, has raised a total of £20,500 across the Group. This is a fantastic achievement and will help to improve the conditions of local people affected by one of the worst floods in the last 80 years. Through the coordination of the National Disaster Management Authority, the money we have raised will be used to buy new electricity generators for small local communities as well as basic necessities.
 
"On behalf of my people, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks for helping to alleviate the suffering of populations affected by this unprecedented humanitarian crisis," said the Ambassador of Pakistan in a note of thanks addressed to Fabrizio Giulianini, SELEX Galileo’s CEO.
 

United States

Finmeccanica North America continues its commitment to the Aleethia Foundation, whose aim is to support the newly injured service members of the US armed forces. Finmeccanica North America also supports ‘Operation Mend,’ through the DRS Technologies Charitable Foundation. This is a unique partnership between Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas to help treat US military personnel wounded during service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company also supports Bergin University’s Paws for Purple Hearts (PPH) program, which helps heal returning US combat veterans by teaching those with psychological scars, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to train service dogs for their comrades with physical disabilities.