Page 46 - Corporate Responsibility Report 2018

44 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report
Using Lego for Transparency and Education
Gran Tierra has begun using Lego as part of an effort to help local communities better understand the company’s operations and activities. The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology is a renowned, innovative process of hands-on learning that research shows provides a deeper, more meaningful understanding of complex concepts and supports effective dialogue.
The methodology has been successfully used by GTE employees, including engineers, geologists and other operations staff, during community sessions to explain Gran
Tierra’s operations, environmental protection measures and activities. Sessions have also been conducted at 13 sites in the Putumayo and Llanos basins in community schools and with local leaders and regional regulators in many of the areas the company operates.
Continuing to Provide Relief for Mocoa
In August, 2018, one year and five months after catastrophic flooding and mudslides devastated Mocoa, the capital of the Putumayo Department, the town was again affected by heavy rain and flooding which displaced families and compromised infrastructure around Mocoa and Villagarzón. Just as it did in 2017, Gran Tierra responded quickly by providing emergency relief, flood mitigation and rebuilding projects. Gran Tierra’s 2018 rebuilding commitments and its distributions of emergency relief support totalled more than $107,000 USD:
• Provided materials to repair the Villagarzón aqueduct
• Brought equipment and gravel to fix an emergency exit road
• Supplied clean drinking water, emergency kits for communities and school kits for elementary students