Chingford Fruit’s commercial manager Shaun Hockey has raised £11,000 for charity on a four-week awareness and fundraising trip to Zimbabwe.
Usually based in an office in Kent, Hockey made the expedition to northern Zimbabwe to work on a fruit farm specialising in Oz-branded peaches and nectarines.
He wanted to highlight the need for fruit-supplier firms in the UK to support farms in developing countries, while raising funds for a worthy cause.
Hockey joined over 300 workers on Churchill Farm where he spent his days fruit picking and packing for the farm’s packhouse company Nhimbe Fresh Export. He was also able to pass on valuable knowledge, gained from over 20 years experience in the fresh produce industry.
With a contribution of £5,800 from Chingford Fruit, Hockey raised a total of £11,480 for The Kent Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre (KMSTC).
He said: “First of all I would like to thank everyone at Churchill Farm and Nhimbe Fresh Export for looking after me. My time in Zimbabwe was humbling, rewarding and above all, inspiring. I was able to pass on a lot of knowledge to the farm workers, explaining how important their stonefruit is in terms of global stonefruit supply and sharing insight into the importance of shelf -ife monitoring and good cold-chain management.”
Churchill Farm in Zimbabwe is the largest single farm specialising in Oz peaches and nectarines in southern Africa. AG Thames, parent company of Chingford Fruit, purchased ownership of the planting and breeding rights in the northern hemisphere for the trademarked varieties in February 2010.
Hockey said: “It is clear that the Zimbabwean farm workers struggle on a daily basis and I now fully understand the challenges they face pre- and post-harvest.
“Not only does the farm offer much needed employment, it provides individuals with the prospect of growth and survival.
“I am very grateful to have been able to take the time to embark on what has been a fantastic, if not challenging, month.”
Mary Daly from Kent Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre (KMSTC), said: “Shaun has raised an astonishing amount of money for our cause and we cannot thank him enough.
“His efforts have helped not only raise awareness of KMSTC, but MS in general and how working together can significantly help others.”
Image caption L-R: Shaun Hockey, commercial manager at Chingford Fruit, Karen Middlemass, Kent Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Gavin McNally, managing director at Chingford Fruit and Mary Daly, Kent Multiple Sclerosis Centre.
