In keeping with the spirit of Mandela Day, companies, non-governmental organisations and ordinary people of South Africa pledged 67 minutes to follow the example set by Nelson Mandela and engage in humanitarian work. On July 18, one such company, Inter-Active Technologies, pledged 67 minutes of its time to host 67 orphans from Ikageng Itireleng AIDS Ministry.
Ikageng Itireleng AIDS Ministry, an orphanage based in Soweto, opened its doors in 2002. It is currently home to 1 700 children orphaned by AIDS and supports 310 child-headed households in the area. Orphans are given a roof over their heads, food on their plates and a decent education. It is no wonder Inter-Active Technologies decided to lend a helping hand.
Ikageng founder Carol Dyantyi says she is grateful for the support the company gave her children on Mandela Day. “It was for a worthy cause and it was great to see businesspeople coming out to contribute towards the betterment of orphans’ lives,” says Dyantyi.
“They have left those children with lifetime memories that will be embedded in their minds forever – and they saw that our children are also brilliant.”
Even though Inter-Active Technologies had pledged to spend 67 minutes at the orphanage, Dyantyi says the company spent the entire afternoon there. The children were treated to a workshop where trainers, speakers and coaches worked with them to help them to see the power of positive thinking in their own lives. They also watched a DVD of The Secret.
“We spent the whole afternoon [with Inter-Active Technologies],” says Dyantyi. “The kids watched the movie The Secret and they were also given the book, which they are still reading.”
Kat Fouche, general manager of training and quality at Inter-Active Technologies, says that, with the right education, the children will be able to make the best of the situations they find themselves in.
“Most of the children have had a great deal of hardships in their short lives and I believe that it is important for them to be able to see a more positive future for themselves,” says Fouche, who co-ordinated the Mandela Day initiative.
Fouche adds that all it took was 67 minutes to touch 67 souls. “It is about giving 67 souls a message of hope, positive thinking and a proactive action plan for them to take back with them.”
The day wouldn’t have been complete without goodies for the children. MultiChoice and MTN provided school bags, which contained different kinds of stationery; Ster-Kinekor provided a screening of the South African movie White Wedding; Operational Marketing Group of South Africa donated food supplies worth R3 500; and Cresta Shopping Centre sponsored R2 500 worth of much-needed toiletries and supplies for the children.