Every July 18, the world comes together to celebrate the late icon, Nelson Mandela’s birthday by committing 67 Minutes to doing good deeds. Our Foundation School in Melville and our High Schools in Sophiatown welcomed the support of Hollard Insurance, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Virgin Active Milpark for their 67 Minutes Mandela Day helps.
Hollard team hard at work
The Day kicked off at the Foundation School with an opening statement by the TNPA, organising committee member, Sizwe Msila. “Today will evoke a sense of consciousness in all of us,” Msila said before handing the floor to TNPA’s Acting CEO Nico Walters. “As a corporate, part of our role is to give back to the community. It is truly a privilege for Transnet to be a part of something like this. We would like to thank the school for giving us this opportunity. Let us do our work today, in Madiba’s spirit,” Walters said.
The Foundation School Principal, Vanessa Brodrick, also took to the podium to welcome the guests. “These kinds of initiatives and helping hands allow us to enhance our strategies and allow for our continual development in challenging our learners to make a success of their lives. We thank you for the growing interest in our school as a whole and your incredible friendship. In South Africa we embrace the spirit of UBUNTU and today we extend that courtesy to you,” Brodrick said as she closed the opening.
TNPA contributed R40 000 towards refurbishing our Foundation School Facilities. The parastatal brought a team of 50 and they were split into four different groups to carry out their different projects. The teams spent the day painting toilets, installing new taps and a ceiling at the Foundation Schools’ hall.
Meanwhile Hollard and Virgin Active were hard at work cleaning up at the Combined School. Both teams were happy to get their hands dirty as they cleaned up the skip waste area as well as the compost and gardening area. Their commitment to the Madiba spirit was evident as they strived to meet the needs of the organization in keeping the grounds beautiful and litter free.
All three companies did a stellar job with a wonderful attitude of wanting to give back and General Manager, Jackie Gallagher, had nothing but good things to say. “Thank you for giving of yourselves in such a wonderful way today. I really hope that you can find the time to come back and see the impact that that you have made in our children’s lives,” Gallagher said.