​2020 has been an extraordinary year. Because of COVID-19, millions of children around the world have not been able to attend school. This year, we pivoted our education partnerships to focus on digital access to education to give kids a chance to continue their studies, even in the most difficult circumstances. This short video gives you an overview of how Agility teams around the world have helped make an impact.

Agility, a leading global logistics provider, and Aflatoun International, an NGO specializing in life skills and financial education around the world, announced a partnership that will increase educational opportunities for more than 560,000 students, with at least half of the opportunities created for female students.

Agility’s support will fund the development and translation of Aflatoun’s “AflaYouth” financial literacy and entrepreneurship curriculum into Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian. “AflaYouth”gives students, aged 16-24, access to both online and in-person training, support, mentoring and learning during their transition into the formal labor market, or as they launch an entrepreneurial career. Aflatoun will also develop teachers’ training manuals for the curriculum.

“AflaYouth”  will be provided to Aflatoun’s network of more than 50 NGOs in 30 countries in the Middle East, North and West Africa, Central and South America and East Europe. Trainings on the curriculum will be provided to NGO partners and local educators, who in turn educate underprivileged youth in the communities where they operate. Trainings will take place both in-person and online, giving Aflatoun the flexibility to reach partners around the world.

Frank Clary, Agility’s Vice President for Sustainability, said: “Agility’s support means that Aflatoun’s partner NGOs will be able to implement educational programming for refugees and underprivileged local populations in a context and language that’s relevant to them. Since 2014, Agility has supported the education of 68,000 students around the world and this partnership with Aflatoun gives even more students the opportunity to have an education. Aflatoun empowers local communities to create development opportunities through education.”

Roeland Monasch, CEO of Afltaoun International, said: “The skills taught in this program are especially relevant in this time of economic uncertainties. One of the strengths of our programs is that they can be contextualized to local needs and circumstances. Therefore, it has become even more relevant that our AflaYouth Books will be translated into other languages. Thus, we can deliver our-quality curricula to more young people across different regions of the world. We hope that this project is a great start of a long-term partnership with such a successful company as Agility.”

Agility has a globally recognized sustainability program, covering humanitarian logistics, community volunteerism, fair labor and environmental sustainability. Agility is part of the FTSE4Good Index Series, a resource used by investors to identify companies around the world with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Agility is also ranked in the top 10% of all companies and the top 4% of the logistics industry for overall sustainability performance by EcoVadis. Since 2006, Agility has completed more than 1,950 community education, health or environment projects affecting more than one million people in 90 countries.

Agility moved two truckloads of PPE from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Maputo, Mozambique, for PLeDGE Health, a U.S.-based NGO. PLeDGE is working to set up the first emergency room in Mozambique. As more donations came in, Agility worked to ensure enough truck space. At the same time, word of South Africa’s impending shutdown led to a shortage in trucks and long waits at the border. When the cargo arrived in Maputo, Agility arranged for storage at the newly built Agility Logistics Park. Agility also managed onward movement to hospitals in Maputo and to the Maputo District Ministry of Health warehouse. The PPE is intended for use at all seven hospitals in Maputo.

National Aviation Services (NAS), a leading global aviation services provider and one of Agility’s subsidiaries, donated 7,000 COVID-19 Rapid Diagnostic Testing (RDT) kits to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Uganda.

These RDT kits will allow the MoH of Uganda’s COVID-19 National Task Force to carry out tests and get results within 15 minutes. The shipment was carried out with the support of the Group Chief Executive Officer of NAS, and the General Manager of NAS Uganda.

The test kits were transported from Kuwait. NAS helped sort on the ground movement of the shipment and customs clearance expertise to deliver the kits in three weeks.

National Aviation Services (NAS) has joined the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority’s efforts to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by introducing electric forklifts and tractors into its operations in the country.

Twelve new electric vehicles replace traditional diesel-fueled equipment for baggage and cargo handling around the aircrafts, ensuring a quieter and cleaner working environment in the baggage sorting area. By switching from fuel to electric-powered equipment, there are several environmental benefits, including reduced petroleum and fuel consumption and improved air quality, particularly at indoor facilities. The equipment is also smaller in size, occupying lesser space and leaving more room for maneuvering. Investments like these are not just good for the environment, but lead to operational savings.

NAS, a signatory of the UN Global Compact, envisions future investments into electric and solar-powered equipment on the ramp and baggage sorting area. In Uganda NAS manages 25 flights daily, with 1.3 million passengers and 2.6 million bags handled annually. The operations are serviced by 810 employees.

From a story originally published here.

After Cyclone Idai devastated central Mozambique in early 2019, Agility supported the emergency response, through partnerships with the World Food Programme. Internally, Agility employees helped raise enough money for the World Food Programme to provide emergency meals to more than 15,000 people affected by the cyclone. In addition, as part of our Logistics Emergency Teams (LET) work, Agility worked with our LET partners, the UN Global Logistics CLuster, and the WFP to provide critically important supply chain information about available assets and resources, as well as customs clearance, supply chain routing and similar information. In total, the Logistics Cluster, with Agility’s support, helped over 120 humanitarian organizations respond to the crisis.

GCC Services sees its work in remote regions as an opportunity to influence a better way of doing business, including setting a high standard for human rights and labor standards of its suppliers, implementing good environmental practices, and training local employees.

As a provider of bulk food for the United Nations in Darfur, Sudan; Abyei, Sudan; and Cyprus, GCC Services sought to hire as many local employees as possible, providing needed income for families that had suffered through conflict.

As well, GCC Services is certified by Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC) in the UK to conduct, test and certify HACCP (food safety) training, and offers eight certified tutors. In the three locations where GCC Services provides food rations for the UN, 471 employees have been certified in HACCP, giving them a valuable certification that is applicable for other jobs in restaurants, hotels or food manufacturing. In addition to the certification, GCC Services employees are paid above market rate, receive medical benefits, vacation time and an indemnity when they leave, giving them de facto savings.

Trained employees have gone on to help prepare our three Darfur food warehouses for ISO 22000 certification. This is the first time such a massive training has taken place and ISO 220000 certification has been achieved at a remote conflict zone.

Gulf Catering Company (GCC Services) is an Agility infrastructure company specializing in remote site services, including camp catering, integrated facility management and camp construction services in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Tristar Kenya’s Office in Nairobi oversaw the construction of two new sanitary facilities for both boys and girls, with bio-digesters, modern cisterns and flowing water, sanitary bins and hand wash dispensers.