As part of celebrating Mandela Day on Saturday, 18 July 2009, Mpumalanga Finance MEC, Mrs Y N Pinky Phosa spent more than 67 minutes of her time, to be exact, the whole of Saturday with more than 320 vulnerable community members. She started the day by visiting Mshadza Special Care Centre, a home of safety in ward six in Masoyi outside White River, where she donated food parcels and clothing to needy 100 children. She then proceeded to the Tower of Love Children’s Centre, an orphanage centre in ward 28 of Matsulu near Malelane, where she also donated food parcels and clothing to more than 150 children at the centre.
Thereafter, she also joined councillors at the Masibambisane Activity Centre, a care centre for people with disabilities, also in Matsulu, to assist with renovations of the centre. She ended the day in Barberton by having lunch at the community hall with more than 70 elderly people from the Sikhulile Mhola Old Age Home and also cut a birthday cake in honour of Madiba’s birthday.
This was part of the Mandela Day campaign to encourage people to dedicate at least 67 minutes of their time with those less fortunate members of our society. She was accompanied by the Head of Department, Mr Rabeng Tshukudu and the management of the department.
Throughout the day, the overall message from the MEC was borrowed from Michael Jackson’s song, “heal the world.” She said, “We have the power to transform the world and make it a better place for all those who live in it.” She encouraged communities to re-embrace the spirit of ubuntu, as a birthday gift to Madiba for the sacrifice he made to South Africans, spanning 67 years. “As Africans, we grew up knowing that a child belongs to the whole community and as a child, every elder person in your community is your father or mother,” added MEC Phosa.
As this was a day of making a difference in the lives of those less privileged, no government funding was used to purchase the items donated as the donations were sourced from staff of the Department of Finance and the private sector.
Enquiries:
Mohau Ramodibe
Tel: 013 766 4216
Cell: 082 771 9950
Issued by: Department of Finance, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
20 July 2009
