The Alto Jama Neighborhood Council implemented the social initiative to support its members, who are not generating income due to the cancellation of tourism. His project was supported by a group of SQM workers, after applying to the Social Comedores Support Fund promoted by the mining company to strengthen the work that social organizations are doing in a pandemic. he Alto Jama Neighborhood Council implemented the social initiative to support its members, who are not generating income due to the cancellation of tourism. His project was supported by a group of SQM workers, after applying to the Social Comedores Support Fund promoted by the mining company to strengthen the work that social organizations are doing in a pandemic. In the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, about 80% of the population is dedicated to tourism or an activity related to this area, who as a result of the health crisis generated by Covid-19 have suffered a strong economic impact due to the cessation of tourist activity in the area. To face this new reality, the Alto Jama Neighborhood Council launched a Solidarity Bakery, whose board of directors built a clay oven for its members to bake bread for free, contributing to the family economy of residents who are not generating income. The initiative was supported by a group of workers from SQM, the Salar de Atacama division, who applied this initiative to the Social Comedores Support Fund promoted by the mining company so that all its workers deployed throughout Chile, through various projects, contribute to strengthen the work being done by social organizations in their areas, in times of pandemic. Thus, this group of volunteers managed to contribute a total of 750 kilos, including flour, salt and yeast. Luz Riquelme, president of the Alto Jama Neighborhood Council, highlighted that: “SQM's contribution, beyond generating economic support in these difficult times, has strengthened our neighborhood union. Here they cook and bake their own bread. There are 30 families who use our facilities, and we deliver supplies to other 10 family groups, since they have ovens in their homes ”. Families take turns and use the facilities on a schedule to maintain social distancing. The inputs they receive depend on the number of members of their family groups. Claudia Choque explains that: “The pandemic has affected us a lot because we don't have a job, for which we are grateful for the support. In my family there are 5 of us, and every day we are saving 2 pesos ”. Hugo Romero, a resident of Peine and a SQM Salar worker, was the one who presented the project along with 3 other workers from the company. "We are very happy to have been awarded the project because we are contributing a grain of sand to a neighborhood council of the territory made up of people of effort, and where children, women, and the elderly will benefit." Social Dining Support Funds Faced with the health crisis generated by Covid-19, SQM together with Fundación La Semilla launched a competitive fund to help various organizations that are implementing social kitchens throughout Chile. There were 56 projects accepted, which will directly benefit 13.468 people, through the delivery of food and kitchen utensils. "Within the framework of the corporate volunteering program Give a Hand to your Community, the workers made their connection with the territory in which they live visible, managing to occupy all the available places in this solidarity fund, "said Pablo Pisani, Communications, Sustainability and Public Affairs manager at SQM, and pointed out that" through these projects We will be able to help various social organizations whose members include unemployed people, over 70 years of age, in a situation of disability and vulnerability ”. The neighborhood associations, sports organizations, groups of the elderly, mothers' centers and groups of indigenous communities that will receive the support will carry out their social work in: San Pedro de Atacama, Arica, Iquique, Alto Hospicio, Pozo Almonte, María Elena, Tocopilla , Calama, Antofagasta, Taltal, La Serena, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Santiago, Colina, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Pudahuel, Maipú, La Pintana, Conchalí, Lampa and Pichidehua. This social initiative is complementary to the community action plan that SQM promoted to face the health crisis caused by Covid-19 and which includes 4 axes: Health, social welfare, education and healthy life, and economic reactivation.
