Mandela Day calls for people to commit 67 minutes to helping to change the world for the better.

 

“I was driving with my wife, listening to the radio, and kept hearing corporate companies calling in and pledging their support for the campaign. I also wanted to contribute,” says Grant. So NetDynamix pledged to create 67 websites for 67 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

 

Just over a month later, Grant’s company has shortlisted 20 NGOs and their sites will all be going live within the next three weeks. “We wanted to show people we are doing something,” says Grant. He explains that he did not want people to think that he had made a promise he couldn’t keep.

 

NetDynamix will also be offering two hours of free maintenance a month to all 67 NGOs. “They have been very happy and deserving, and it feels great to be able to give something back,” says Grant.

 

“In doing this we hope to put more NGOs online so they can attract sponsors, donations and volunteers,” says Grant.

 

One of the NGOs that will be receiving a free website is Greatheart Gifts. “We are very excited about the website,” says its managing director, Candice Poole.

 

Greatheart Gifts, closely linked with the African Children’s Feeding Scheme, empowers women in Alexandra township by training them to sew, embroider and make beadwork products. These products are then sold and the profits are redistributed to the women, helping them to support their families.

 

“It’s great that we are going to have a professional website that will show our products properly,” says Poole.

 

The website will give Greatheart a space in which to advertise its products and raise awareness of the NGO to a much wider audience. “This website will allow us to enter the international market, which up until now has been difficult to get into,” says Poole.

 

She praises the NetDynamix initiative as “a fantastic way to show support for Mandela Day”.