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INTERNATIONAL NELSON MANDELA DAY 2015:
DIRCO PLAYS ITS PART |
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| The participation of the Diplomatic Community signified the international community’s honour and appreciation of Madiba’s example of selfless service. |
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To mark International Nelson Mandela Day, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and members of the Diplomatic Community undertook a number of activities at the Good Hope Community Organisation and the Ya Bana Orphanage in Winterveldt, which included delivering food parcels, cooking for the children, as well as cleaning and gardening at the orphanage.
Good Hope Community Organisation is home to 113 orphans aged from just a few months to 18 years. The founder, Marry Lwate, said she started the organisation in 1975 in Mabopane and moved into the current premises in 2000.
Throughout the day, members of the Diplomatic Community who accompanied the Minister painted the building, washed blankets, cooked, did gardening and played various indigenous games with the orphans. While at the orphanage, the Diplomatic Community donated R85 000.
At Ya Bana Orphanage, the Chinese Embassy provided basic Mandarin language training to the kids for the duration of the day. The centre also received various donations ranging from tinned food to fresh fruits. Presently, Ya Bana cares for 30 orphaned and vulnerable children on a full-time basis in five foster care homes, which were constructed and furnished over a period of four years. Furthermore, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane handed over a cheque of R861 074,27 to the Nelson Mandela Trust for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
Earlier the day, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane visited a 92-year-old woman who is blind and living in a dilapidated house. As part of the visit, the Minister donated a new bed with blankets from the Chinese Embassy, food parcels from the department and also promised to assist in building her a home – much to the old lady’s delight. |
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