Touching lives for Mandela Day

A team of RCL Foods, a company which sells food products, planted a vegetable garden at New Jerusalem Children’s Home, a place of safety for vulnerable children in Midrand.

Group corporate social investment manager, Warren Farrer said the initiative formed part of the company’s countrywide campaign to transform lives for the better, as well as a company-wide sign-up drive on 18 May which netted almost 350 eager volunteers for the company’s first centrally co-ordinated Mandela Day campaign.

Farrer added, “We are using the diversity of our people, brands and locations to make a difference where our communities need it most, whether it’s setting up a vegetable garden to feed a school, running a soup kitchen or playing with orphaned children. All of these activities connect with our two-pronged corporate social investment policy which focuses on food security and community development.”

On 13 July, the company’s Worcester team interacted with women and children of a safe house by doing baking and beadwork, while to the northeast, a group of Nelspruit staff members painted and interacted with children at a children’s home.

“Allowing each site to choose its own charity will ensure that we maintain existing outreach relationships while allowing new ones to be formed. Through sharing what is being done at each site, employees will see how their individual efforts fit into the bigger picture of Mandela Day. That way we can all be part of making a national difference,” said Farrer.

The company also sponsors all food donations as well as painting and gardening supplies, while employees also contribute some items of their own, such as toiletries, clothing and cleaning materials.

New Jerusalem Children Home’s spokesperson, Raymond Madibogo said, “It’s a humbling experience to have such a big company not only donating food but inspiring us to grow our own and this adds to the vision of the home of being self-sustained and teaches our children how to plant, harvest and eat organic home-grown food.

“We are thankful and look forward to having this relationship growing from here onwards.”

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