Employees from the company HP, together with Food and Trees for Africa stopped going about their daily activities for 67 minutes on Friday to honour the late former President Nelson Mandela by planting eight trees at the POPUP centre in Salvokop.
The event formed part of celebrating Nelson Mandela birthday on 18 July. HP planted four rhus lencia trees and four peach trees.
The organiser of the event, Rochelle van Rooyen, says: “Giving back to the community has always been part of our DNA, something that our founder started 75 years ago.”
She says the reason they work closely with POPUP is because from an economic progression perspective, they believed they can change the economy and provide jobs through education.
For Mandela Day, HP focused on environmental as well as human progression where they bring together their employees and their passion to make a difference in the community.
HP planted the first four rhus lencia trees at the POPUP enterprise village to beautify the environment and to provide shade.
They also planted four peach fruits trees at the school. “We are hoping that the fruit from the trees can be used for the students’ meals and for training them to make jams,”Rooyen says.
POPUP’s strategic communication manager Nerésa Vogel, said they were excited.
“The support we received during the Mandela Day is amasing,” Vogel said.
A total of seven groups from various companies supported POPUP on Mandela Day.
