"Weebale"
is thank you
in Luganda

Much of the world lives in what the United Nations has defined as extreme poverty. Uganda is one of those countries, though it is making major strides in poverty eradication. And though the percentage of Ugandans living in absolute poverty has been on a substantial decline, with an anticipated extreme poverty level of only 10% in the future, the youngest generation is the one that suffers most. For many Ugandan children clothing and education are quite simply luxury items.

Growing up in poverty is not fun. And in these sorts of conditions, it doesn’t take much to make children happy. Like the sweet little Ugandan girl who was ecstatic to own her first real pair of shoes, a pair of rouge PUMA sneakers. Or of the group of village kids who finally had the chance to play “real” football with what they considered to be super fancy football jerseys and boots.

While visiting rural communities in Uganda, where she installed a special water heating device to improve hygiene, Lena Mahr, Siemens employee and driver of the project, delivered the PUMA gear too. She said it brightened the lives of many and added that she was so thankful to the Herzogenaurach retail staff, who helped to make this dream a reality:

They were so supportive and patient, helping me even to identify the right products for the ages of the kids I would meet and were extremely supportive. When I came to pick up the things in Herzogenaurach, one colleague even stayed after work to help me prepare everything.

So to our PUMA Herzogenaurach Retail Team, nicely done! You make us all proud to be PUMAs!

Let’s follow in their example and continue to be engaged in our big, beautiful global community.