‘Every day must be a Mandela Day’
IVORY PARK – Ward executives partner with local businessman to make a difference for Mandela Month.
Ward 133 of Ivory Parks’ executive committee members, with the help of a Midrand businessman, gave away new school shoes, bags, and food parcels to less fortunate children at the Ivory Park North Community Hall.
On 8 July, Ward 133 councillor Julia Gololo, business consultant Imran Butt, executive chairperson of the ward Teboho Marumo, council members, as well as television actress Linda Sebezo, best known for her role as Maki on the drama series Lockdown handed out the donations a day before the children of Ivory Park were to return to school. The initiative formed part of their Mandela Day and Thuma Mina initiatives to help the less fortunate.
Ward 133 councillor Julia Gololo said she was happy, especially because businesspeople were coming on board to assist the needy.
“We identified a lot of poverty, obviously due to unemployment, which also leads to drug use. Most youths end up resorting to drug use because of hunger depression when there is nothing to eat in their houses. So we are planning that this initiative becomes an ongoing one.”
Businessman Imran Butt said he had a passion for giving and this was not the first time he gave back to the community.
“I was approached by the local community of Ivory Park and they told me there were poor families and children who needed help. So I asked them to get me the kids’ names, gender, and shoe sizes as well as their home addresses so that I would bring everything that was needed.”
Butt continued, “Let’s at least support our communities and neighbours. If a person wants to be successful and to be acknowledged in the community, they have to give back.”
Marumo added that because this was the month of Mandela, they as the leadership felt the need to go back and lead the society by championing their general interests like poverty alleviation. “But also, the programme is motivated by my upbringing and the fact that I was raised by a single parent and experienced poverty, so after we sold the idea to the leadership board in the ward, it was adopted.
“Every day must be a Mandela Day and we will go as far as teaching the young ones how to fish by introducing programmes to help them go to university and others to start their businesses.”
Related article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/182286/nelson-mandela-day-timeline-madibas-journey/
