MISS SOUTH AFRICA & CELL C EMPLOYEES SHOW KINDNESS ON NELSON MANDELA DAY
Wednesday, July 18, marked the cententary of the birth of the late former president Nelson Mandela with thousands of South Africans supporting activities in his honour around the country.
Employee volunteers from Cell C – joined by Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green – participated in the Adopt-a-School (part of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation) Back to School for a Day activities at Tshilidzi Primary School in Chiawelo, Soweto.
The Adopt-a-School Foundation called on corporates to come together and support a variety of initiatives taking place at the school for 67 minutes.
Two teams of volunteers from Cell C’s head office took part – one painted a classroom while the other assisted with a touch rugby clinic.
“On Nelson Mandela’s centenary, we encouraged all South Africans to take the spirit of giving back beyond 67 Minutes and into their everyday lives,” says Donné Nicol, Chief Executive Officer at the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation. “It is through first-hand experience of platforms such as this and others like the Cyril Ramaphosa Education Trust’s Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day, Tracker Men in the Making Day and many more, that beneficiaries are inspired to carry on the commitment to giving back into their everyday lives.”
The Adopt-a-School Foundation, established in 2002, strives to address the inequalities and inadequacies in disadvantaged and rural schools in order to ensure positive learning experiences which will lead to greater opportunities for South Africa’s youth.
Said Suzette van der Merwe, Managing Executive Corporate Social Investment at Cell C:
“We were delighted to be able to honour Madiba’s legacy. Children and education were close to his heart so it made perfect sense to take part in this wonderful Adopt-a-School project. At Cell C we ascribe to the philosophy of kindness as the catalyst for real change. Kindness is a gesture of goodwill towards someone or something. It doesn’t have to cost anything or much; what’s important is that it’s an act of expressing genuine care for another person or living being.”
