POSCO said that corporate social responsibility related projects it began in Africa in 2011 earned the firm a strong reputation there ahead of its investment into resources.

In August 2011, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Zimbabwe for the POSCO Children Development Center, a welfare facility to help impoverished children that was completed on January 30th 2012.

The center provides education for children and offers medical services for those who suffer from HIV AIDS. In addition, the facility also gives lectures on child rearing to parents of poor families and community leaders.

POSCO also broke ground on an agricultural training center on the same site. The center will offer advanced farming technology and leadership programs to nurture about 100 agricultural leaders that will manage collective farms and raise high yield crops.

POSCO, headed by chairman Mr Chung Joon yang, also plans to open another agricultural center in Mozambique on February 2nd 2012

The center will be equipped with equipment including a tractor and rice planting machinery and about 50 students will learn about farming technology hands on. They will be given opportunities to hone their farming skills at collective farms, provided in collaboration with the Mozambican government.

Meanwhile, on the back of its CSR programs in the two African countries, POSCO plans to expand social contributions to Ethiopia by repairing old houses and tackling poverty there.

POSCO continues making efforts to tap into Africa, Australia, Canada, Brazil and other natural resources-rich countries to buy coal and iron ore mines in a bid to secure stable supplies of raw materials used to make steel.

(Sourced from www.koreatimes.co.kr)