So much shared purpose that Mandela Day becomes Mandela Week
Mandela Week demonstrates the power of shared goals and determination as an eventful July reveals that corporates and volunteers long to make a difference in their communities and pay their respects to the legacy of Madiba.
Every July, South Africans around the country are urged to plan a 67-minute long good deed for Mandela Day on the 18th. So, every year on Mandela Day each of Afrika Tikkun’s Centres of Excellence are abuzz with activity as sponsors, donors and volunteers gather in Joburg and Cape Town to do good, beyond the monetary donations; so much so that not all activities can take place in one day and the entire week of the 18th has been dubbed Mandela Week.
Hudaco team at our Uthando Centre. 33 divisions from Hudaco visited all our Centres.
In Diepsloot, Motivational Speaker, Billy Selekane explained why he was there for his 67 minutes: “The African child must understand that the world is their oyster and they must never believe anyone that tells them otherwise. We are all born to be great and although it might take longer at times greatness can be achieved if we believe and work at it.”
Retail Capital braaing for our Skills Development learners.
Onyi Nwaneri, Group Executive of Partnerships and Marketing said, “We are so grateful to everyone who has had a hand in enriching the lives of our young and old people alike. On behalf of all of us at Afrika Tikkun, thank you from the bottom of our bursting hearts.”
Nwaneri concludes: “Mandela Day is an occasion for everyone to take action and inspire change. The fact that we now celebrate Mandela Week when it initially started out as one day is heart-warming. For us it demonstrates that doing good is infectious and gives us hope that one day we will see this much enthusiasm by the people of our nation 365 days a year.
| Chief Rabbi Goldstein pictured at our Centre in Mfuleni
During this week several hundred people from organisations across the country undertake a wide variety of activities from interacting with our young people by way of feeding babies, reading stories to toddlers and doing mock interviews with skills development learners; to refurbishing the spaces in which our young people play by cleaning and painting, and further uplifting the people of our communities by distributing food parcels, learning more about the challenges faced by families of children with disabilities and spending time with the elderly. |
National Empowerment Fund
Lizelle Pretorius of Retail Capital also had some gold: “We should do this every day – not just one specific day. It’s getting everyone together from the young to the old and creating a future for them. Young people are our future. We need to make sure they are kept off the streets and away from drugs and bad influences. We need to give everyone a fair chance in life. It was amazing for us to do this together.”
Billy Selekane with Afrika Tikkun’s Martine Ellis.
| Companies that participated in Afrika Tikkuns Mandela Week activities include: Sappi Limited, ChemFresh, University of Johannesburg, Hudaco, AVI Limited, Dept of Agriculture, Vantage Capital, African Resonance, Huawei Technologies, City of Johannesburg, Sasfin Bank, Secret Sunrise, Retail Capital, Stallion Security, Afrox, African Bank, Johannesburg High Court, Billy Selekane International, Tourvest, IBM, Afro Visionary Legacy Pty Limited, House of Brave, Land Bank, Synthesis Technology, Innovate IQ, National Empowerment Fund, Netsurit, Spark ATM, ‘Herzlia Primary School, Sinai Academy, Cape Torah High School’ with Chief Rabbi Goldstein, DN PERS, Acceleration, Royal Grammar School and Kyalami Preparatory School.
For more information on Afrika Tikkun and their initiatives call 011 325 5914, email info@afrikatikkun.org or visit www.afrikatikkun.org |