Youth volunteers of the Generation I AM (GIA) campaign surprised the car guards at Protea Glen Mall with breakfast on Mandela Day. Founder of GIA, Tshepiso Podile, felt that car guards went underappreciated and that they too deserved recognition.
“There are many jobs out there that are not recognised or shown appreciation. We believe car guards are one of them. We wanted to show them that we appreciate their daily efforts of braving the different weather conditions, protecting cars at the mall,” Podile said.
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The car guards said they indeed felt underappreciated and wanted gestures such as those done by GIA to be continued. They were also grateful for the gesture and took the opportunity to wish former President Nelson Mandela a happy birthday.
“I am feeling so great and I’m thankful for this opportunity. Happy birthday to uTata!” said Wright Phiri, a car guard at Protea Glen Mall.
Generation I AM is a campaign that aims to instil confidence and a positive outlook on life in young people. Youth volunteer, Banele Thekiso, says he also gained invaluable experience from the opportunity to engage with the car guards who are often overlooked.
“It was a great experience, it taught me a lot of things like how to communicate with people. It taught me to appreciate the little things that people are doing, we lack appreciation for car guards in our society so that has changed for me,” Thekiso said.
Thekiso also notes that doing his 67 minutes helped him develop his empathy. “The experience taught me to empathise with car guards and their current situation,” Thekiso elaborated.
Nelson Mandela International Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2009 and is a global call that encourages every individual to harness their power and commit to using 67 minutes of the day to doing acts that may transform the world.
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