All offices of the Electoral Commission (IEC) countrywide will participate in Mandela Day activities this year. Staff will spend their 67 minutes on 15 projects.
The Chairperson, Adv Pansy Tlakula, said she was excited at the high levels of energy demonstrated by IEC officials nationally and proud that the organisation will be involved in so many projects.
IEC staff at national office will spend their 67 minutes on Wednesday, 18 July at the New Jerusalem Children’s Home in Midrand. An estimated 60 staff members will be involved and they will perform the following chores:
- Clean and paint several rooms
- Fix cupboards, door hinges, curtain rails, leaking taps, broken tiles
- Work in the garden
- Fix the parking area
- Fix leaking roof
- Clean the premises
- Do some welding
The New Jerusalem Children's Home provides residential care for abandoned, abused, traumatised, orphaned or HIV-Positive children and vulnerable youth from 0-18 years. The home was founded in 2000 when two sisters, Anna and Phina Mojapelo realised the desperate need in their surrounding community to provide shelter and protection for these children. Their aim was not only to give the children a home but also to offer them a future filled with hope. Anna and Phina opened up their own homes to facilitate this and started with just one child. Today, they shelter over 80 children at a time.
New Jerusalem is located on a 6.4 acre agricultural smallholding in Midrand which was donated to the children by Anna Mojapelo. Current facilities comprise nurseries for the babies, dormitories for some of the older children, communal kitchen and dining facilities. For more information, please visit: www.newjerusalem.co.za
The programme for IEC provincial and local offices are as follows:
Eastern Cape: Staff from the provincial office will be painting at an orphanage in Engqeleni, a rural village in the Transkei region. Mzomtsha Children’s Home is home to 62 children between the ages of 7 and 17.
Free State: Staff from the provincial and Mangaung offices will be visiting Lebone Village orphanage in Bloemspruit on the outskirts of Bloemfontein. The orphanage is home to 39 children who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. IEC staff will prepare and share lunch with the children and their caregivers as well as donate seeds for planting.
Gauteng: Staff from the provincial and local offices in the province will visit and assist at the following institutions:
- Othandweni Family Care Centre in Soweto with 90 children between the ages of 0 and 18. The IEC will provide care to the children for the day as well as donate supplies such as stationery and party packs.
- Ithembalihle LSEN School for children with special needs in Ekurhuleni. The school have 231 children of whom 187 are boarders. The IEC will donate stationery, toiletries, socks and hand towels.
- Rekopane Inclusive Development Centre also in Ekurhuleni which is home for 35 orphans between the ages of 2 and 12. The IEC will take care of the children for the day and donate supplies such as nappies, toilet paper and kids clothing.
- House of Mercy, a home-based care and drop-off centre for children infected with HIV. The IEC will assist learners with school work after school and deliver donated stationery packs.
KwaZulu-Natal: As part of their Mandela Day project, the provincial office will spend their time at a house in Mtubatuba. Staff of the provincial office will be joined by colleagues from local offices in the area to rebuild the home of the Shabangu siblings on Wednesday, 18 July. This family is headed by a teenage boy who shares the two-roomed dwelling with five siblings and two cousins. Materials have been sponsored by suppliers and contributions from staff whom will be assisted by builders to complete the house.
Limpopo: Staff from the provincial office will be visiting Ratanang School for people with disabilities. The school with 357 learners and 34 educators is located in the Blouberg municipality in the Capricorn district. Activities will include cleaning the school premises and interacting with learners and staff.
Mpumalanga: Staff from the provincial office will partner with South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to clean and paint at Busy Crèche Day Care Centre in Barberton. The crèche is privately owned and most of the children are from disadvantaged families. The crèche, which currently enrols 120 children, can only accommodate 60 children with the facilities available. The IEC has received donations for paint and paintbrushes while Pick ‘n Pay is sponsoring R500.00 of groceries; and Ackermans in Barberton is sponsoring school uniforms for the children of child-headed households.
North West: The provincial office will be visiting an early learning centre with gifts and food and spend time with the children. The following local offices in the province will also participate in Mandela Day activities:
- In the Bojanala district, staff are going to a special needs home in Madibeng [Brits] to help cleaning the yard and make soup for the residents;
- In the Ngaka Modiri Molema region, the IEC will participate in an exhibition at the Dinokana Stadium in Ramotshere Moiloa [Zeerust];
- In the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region, staff will visit a school for the blind in Lekwa Teemane [Christiana] to clean, make soup for the children and read to them; and
- In the Dr Kenneth Kaunda region, the IEC will visit the Ikageng Township in Potchefstroom where 25 children have been selected to gather in the local community hall where staff will feed and talk to them.
Northern Cape: Staff from the provincial office and the John Taolo Gaetsewe district municipality will be visiting Kgomotsego Old Age Home in Bathlaros, Kuruman. The facility is home to 25 elderly residents. The programme, which starts at 10:00, will include activities such as cleaning the facility including the garden; handing over of gifts such as heaters, mats, bedding and cleaning detergents, and last but not least having lunch with the elderly and spending time with them chatting, reading and spoiling them.
Western Cape: Staff from the provincial office will be visiting the Lucas Mbebe Educare crèche in Gugulethu where they will perform ‘handyman’ services and deliver clothes, blankets and toys. The centre was established in 1990. They currently care for 130 children up to the age of six in a safe and secure environment. The centre is managed by a supportive committee which has monthly meetings to look after the needs of the centre, e.g. finances, fundraising and the operational aim. The centre empowers children by protecting their rights and giving them a basic education. They also have a soup kitchen supporting terminally ill patients and homeless people.
“I hope that all of us who worked on this project will remember the values that Madiba embraced and that we will honour his legacy every day of our lives by acts of kindness to our fellow South Africans,” said Adv Tlakula.
For media queries:
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
For media interviews, please email requests to: spokesperson@elections.org.za.
