ANZ donates AUD70,000 to Vanuatu Red Cross
ANZ today announced a donation of AUD70,000 (approx. VUV5,800,000) to the Vanuatu Red Cross Appeal Fund to support relief efforts in Vanuatu following the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Pam.
Tropical Cyclone Pam reached category five status on Friday 13 March as it ravaged Vanuatu’s remote islands, leaving wide-spread destruction and thousands displaced.
In announcing ANZ’s donation today to the Vanuatu Red Cross Appeal, ANZ CEO Vanuatu, Charles Rickey, said the people of Vanuatu needed urgent assistance following what was probably the most severe natural disaster the small island nation had experienced in decades.
“We are fully committed to Vanuatu and we take our responsibility towards the communities in which we operate very seriously,” said Mr Rickey. “We want to make a contribution to the important relief efforts that are underway in Vanuatu, and want those people who have been impacted to know that we firmly stand behind them in this time of need.”
ANZ has had a presence in Vanuatu since 1971 and is the largest bank in Vanuatu with two branches, 16 ATMs, some 150 staff nationwide servicing over 30,000 retail and corporate customers.