Residents visiting Witkoppen Clinic’s maternal and child health services received a welcome boost when Omnia Group employees donated food and essential baby items to support vulnerable mothers and newborns through the clinic’s Fresh Start programme.

Although the handover took place at the end of Mandela Month, Omnia Group said the timing allowed employees across the country to participate in collecting donations as part of the company’s 67 Minutes for Mandela initiative.

Read more: Witkoppen clinic celebrates its nurses

Omnia human resources executive Bronwyn Murray said the visit marked the beginning of a new relationship with the clinic.

“This has been a newly founded relationship. We obviously work in the area, we have a building in the area that we just moved into about two years ago, and we wanted to come in and support the clinic,” said Murray.

She added that Mandela Month activities had been staggered across Omnia’s operations nationwide.

“What we’ve done is we’ve celebrated across our group in different areas, and we needed to mobilise the team. We’ve mobilised teams across South Africa over the month, and in Fourways we said we would do it at the end of the month, just to ensure that we could give our employees an ample opportunity to collect whatever we needed for the day.”

During the visit, volunteers distributed food to mothers attending the clinic before handing over baby hampers and other essential items.

“The donations are from our company, from staff as well, who have gotten behind the initiative, believing that it aligns with our values and our purpose, which is innovating to enhance life and creating a greater future. What is beautiful is our staff got behind exactly that, so we live our purpose.”

Senior manager at Witkoppen Clinic, Sandra Bvunyenge, thanked Omnia Group’s leadership, employees and volunteers for choosing the clinic as their Mandela Day beneficiary.

Also read: Community partnerships bring warmth to Witkoppen Clinic patients

“We are not taking this for granted,” said Bvunyenge. “These things do not grow on trees. You have put them together, you have sacrificed, just like Mandela did. Mandela Day is about far more than 67 minutes. It is about creating lasting hope and making a meaningful difference in people’s lives, especially for these mums and babies, who come from very disadvantaged backgrounds, economically insecure and food insecure.”

Bvunyenge said the clinic’s Fresh Start programme focuses on supporting children during the first 1 000 days of life, from conception to the age of two, while some children remain in the programme until the age of 15 if they come from particularly vulnerable circumstances.

“The acronym Fresh stands for Future Realised through Education, Support and Healthcare. That’s what we do, especially for the children from inception to the age of two.”

She said the donated items would directly benefit mothers and newborns enrolled in the programme.

“These hampers will go a long way in supporting vulnerable mothers and newborns in our community. For many families facing financial hardship, receiving essential baby items eases an immediate burden and reminds them that they are not alone, and they have people and organisations who genuinely care about their well-being.”

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates!