Month: October 2018

On October 21^st, more than three thousand runners attended the Carrera del Azúcar (Sugar Race). It took place at Escuintla, a department situated at the south part of Guatemala, area where the sugar mills operate.

The 31^st annual Sugar Race was organized by the Sugar Technicians Association of Guatemala (Atagua), and the Guatemalan Sugar Association (Asazgua).

This race is a tradition, in which every year sugar mills, guild workers, families, friends and passionate runners are part of this competition. The Sugar Race is a local party, which is an opening for the harvest season, and it also promotes a healthy active life.

Thousands of runners crowded the main roads of Escuintla, where hundreds of people were cheering them up. This race consisted on running 10.5 kilometers, and during this trajectory, drinks where proportionated to the runners, and also medical assistance was hired in case they needed.

The first one to cross the finish line was Alberto González Méndez, completing the journey in 32 minutes and 06 seconds. Behind him was Merlin Chalí, who was the first woman to complete the journey, which took her 37 minutes and 04 seconds. At the end of the race some games took place and prices were handed to the assistances.

The winners of the distinct categories were rewarded with cash, sugar and recognition trophies.

The Guatemalan Sugar Agroindustry considers exercise a primary element for a healthy lifestyle, and that’s why they encourage people by making this type of physical events since 1987.

 

 

The Guatemalan Sugar Industry, together with the Direction of Road Safety and Protection -Provial- of the Government of Guatemala and the multinational company 3M, inaugurated on October 4th a Program to increase the Road Culture in children from schools of the South of Guatemala. The program consists of an interactive workshop in which children learn by playing.

The Program is part of the actions of Corporate Social Responsibility of the Guatemalan Sugar sector and will be implemented in more than 40 schools during 2018 and 2019. The instruction will be given to children in preschool, elementary, middle school and High School.

For the children instruction, a “Road Safety Education Park” will be used, in which the children will learn in a practical way about the signaling of public roads, regulations and responsibilities of drivers, pedestrians and authorities. Approximately 70 children will participate in each training.

“Road safety education is part of building a responsible citizenship, since it promotes knowledge and compliance with the rules and regulations; for us is important that children learn about this subject since they are constantly exposed as pedestrians, as passengers and future potential drivers “, said Luis Miguel Paiz, Asazgua’s General Manager during the inauguration of the program.

This program was born as a joint effort of the Sugar Association of Guatemala –Asazgua-, Provial and 3M. Asazgua carried out the construction of the Road Education Park and the donation of 10 bicycles, while the 3M was responsible for the development of traffic signals. Provial staff is in charge of training children in schools