Here are some Pretoria organisations to help for Mandela Day

With Nelson Mandela Day at the door, different organisations around Pretoria have activities and drives planned out for July 18, in commemoration of the legend.

The Centurion-based Feed A Child organisation plans to collect as much non-perishable food as possible to distribute to the needy on the day.

The organisation’s activities for the day will be to receive and sort the donated items as well as work with the volunteers in their shop.

Feed A Child founder and CEO Alza Rautenbach said Mandela Day means a lot to their organisation as it is a day where more contributions become available for them to distribute.

“Though we believe that every day should be a Mandela Day, it is a reminder to the public that every little contribution makes a huge difference and that we as a nation should stand together.”

Rautenbach invites every individual and company to get involved in their initiative on the day to make a difference.

Another organisation in the north of Pretoria, Gobusamang Health Care Centre is looking forward to the day as they plan to clean Damosville community hall and Amandasig Park.

Founder Brenda Mainetja said the community hall is a safe space that keeps teenagers away from the streets and where they host most of their events.

“Cleaning the park is our way of giving back to show our gratitude to the community and parents. We believe that our service will benefit the whole community.”

With this initiative, Mainetja hopes to reach a lot of people in the community to share their knowledge and guide the youth about the challenges they face including teenage pregnancy, alcohol- and drug abuse as well as other crimes.

The Boschkop Sector 2 CPF in the east will host a blanket drive for the less fortunate and the donated goods will be handed over to the less fortunate residents in two communities.

CPF chairperson Jean Jonke said they are collecting blankets from the community, friends, and families, and hope this will help keep the less fortunate warm this cold winter.

“During Mandela Day, we will visit two communities, the Lethabong and Skierlik [informal settlements] to give [away] these collected blankets, medical supplies and food.”

Jonker appealed to the community to continue donating. She said by rallying together in support of this noble cause, “we hope to foster a culture of compassion, inspiring others to take up the mantle and contribute to the betterment of our society”.

“Beyond the immediate warmth and comfort that the blanket drive will provide to those in need, we also aim to ignite a spark of unity and benevolence that will spread across our communities, instilling a sense of shared purpose.”

In the west of Pretoria, to Dipeu tsa Tshwane organisation the day means honouring Mandela’s values of peace, reconciliation, and social justice. They wish to educate and inspire others about Mandela’s contributions to humanity.

Founder and President Samuel Masilela said they usually use the day to educate and inspire others about Mandela’s contributions to humanity.

“We usually volunteer our time for community service projects such as cleaning up neighbourhoods and assisting in schools but this year is going to be different because we will be having community sports events.”

He said the day is in honour of Mandela’s steadfast leadership during the struggle against apartheid, and his willingness to sacrifice his own freedom for the greater good, inspiring courage and determination.

“The emphasis is on bringing people together.”

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) is also appealing to locals to donate R67 this upcoming Mandela Day amid financial strain.

In mid-April, the group stated that their sector was being neglected and called for more funding.

The group insists that the service they provide free of charge is essential and they need additional assistance due to the volume of calls they receive every day.

From January to March, SADAG received 2 500 to 3 000 calls a day on average.

“SADAG receives over 2 500 calls daily from those who are in desperate need of support or a listening ear. An alarming, 1 in 4 calls we receive are suicide-related.

We run the only Suicide Crisis Toll-Free Helpline in South Africa that relies greatly on kind donations from individuals.

This Mandela Day, we appeal to many people to support us by donating R67 for their 67 minutes to help us continue to provide the vital support our fellow South Africans need,” the group said in a statement.

Callers share a range of concerns such as depression, stress, suicidal thoughts, trauma, anxiety, relationship problems, abuse and substance abuse.

SADAG said that less than 5% of the national health budget is allocated to mental health, which they say falls short of making sufficient available treatment to assist the 1 in 3 people who will experience a mental illness at some point in their lifetime.

“This is a call to action for individuals, communities, and organisations to take time in their busy schedules to make a positive impact in our communities. Our communities are overburdened with many issues, but it is up to us to realise that it is in our hands to make a positive change,” the statement continued.

SADAG called for various tiers to be introduced to the system to bridge the gap and lessen the burden on the sector.

These include increased funding to NGOs that already offer support services, empowering community care workers with basic counselling skills, increasing community service opportunities for psychology and psychiatry students, and investing in community mental health projects.

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