Sasol embraces Mandela Day spirit

19 July 2012

Mandela Day is a day where corporates and individuals can help make a difference in the lives of others for at least 67 minutes. In the spirit of Nelson Mandela’s struggles, people all over the world are called upon to donate 67 minutes or more to making a positive impact on the lives of others. For Mandela Day, Sasol employees from across the organisation’s business units took part in various activities that helped uplift the communities in which they operate.

From Sasolburg to Rosebank, Sasol employees embraced the spirit of Mandela Day by donating blankets, painting schools and collecting perishable and non-perishable items, all of which will be given to different charities in different communities.

On Mandela Day this year, Sasol Sasolburg proposed an upgrade of the Zamdela Kitchen near the Sasol One Site in Zamdela. The kitchen provides meals to orphaned and underprivileged children in the area. Sasol is in the process of completing a new kitchen built with PVC panels on the same plot of land so that better facilities can be used to feed the children in the area. Around 50 Sasol volunteers assisted with the cleaning of the grounds, planting vegetable tunnels and trees, painting the fence and handed out backpacks with care items.

As part of the broader “Making a Difference Campaign” within Sasol, volunteers from the Safety Health and Environment (SHE) Centre have put together an initiative to support the Brackenhurst Methodist Church with their winter drive and soup kitchen and Epworth Children’s Village. The two institutions were chosen as they are clearly making a difference in their respective communities and align with the “Making a Difference Campaign” endorsed by Sasol.

In honour of the struggle icon, the site in Secunda will be dedicating the month of July to carry out initiatives in different communities. Business units will target child-headed homes and will arrange with the co-ordinators of Home Based Care Centres to conduct a needs analysis next week to have an idea of how they can assist. A large focus will be placed on the buildings and structures of homes with the idea to improve and better them. To date R5600 worth of non-perishable groceries have been collected and handed over to Kristopher Ryan Centre a day care centre for handicapped children in Secunda.

Sasol Synfuels International (SSI) based in Rosebank pledged their support to the Sunlight Safe Houses and the Rhino action group, RAGE. Employees volunteered to collect items that were on the Sunlight Safe House’s wishlist. The wishlist items ranged from the bare necessities needed for the everyday running of the house to office equipment. This cause was well received by the employees and there was an overwhelming response.

Sasol Technology Rosebank handed over around 350 books and a R5000 donation to the John Orr High School. The Sasol Inzalo Foundation is involved in a project to turn around John Orr Technical High School on Empire Road to a school of excellence in science, math, technology and engineering. Currently the library is out of scope and all money is being used for learning material, labs and workshops. One of the plans is to turn some of the old bus garages into a library/study space for the learners and this is where Sasol Technology stepped in. Employees were asked to donate old books, university text books redundant novels and coffee table books to the high school. Sasol Technology also invited five learners from John Orr Tech to participate in the Take a Child to Work Day experience in Sasolburg on 1 August.

The Business Unit visited Solidarity Helping Hand’s regional donations office in Roodepoort with a bakkie load of house hold items donated by Cornelia Reyneke including matric dance dresses, children’s clothes and toys, as well as R1300 worth of non-perishable groceries and toiletries and 8 handmade blankets. This office supports a very wide area, including Roodepoort, Vereeniging, Sasolburg, Johannesburg South and Midrand. The donated groceries will be used by a soup kitchen feeding scheme which caters for school children and old age homes. Most of the toiletries go to the old age homes and a rape crisis centre.

Mandela Day is yet another platform at which Sasol expresses its care and commitment to communities. In light of this, Sasol aims to uphold the spirit of Mandela Day and inspire employees to make a difference using what they have in their communities.