Kanako Social Responsibility

Over and above the provision of building materials, the team served by painting, cleaning, playing educational games and caretaking for all of the 33 children.

For the second initiative, we assisted a centre, the Tshedimosetso Bagodi Chub Community Project in Dinokaneng Village in Joe Morolong. The centre focuses on providing food, health and other social improvement services for the elderly. It currently caters for 26 elderly residents under Ba Ga Shupimg jurisdiction. We donated blankets, procured vegetable seeds and gardening materials and erected a fence around the centre and garden.

Thabazimbi Local Municipality: Spitskop Special Needs School

Spitskop Special Needs School opened its doors on the 11th of February 2013. Situated in Thabazimbi, it is the first school of its kind in the Waterberg District. The school is registered as a non-profit organization and registered with the Department of Education and Social Development. In spite of this they have not been able to obtain government funding. As such the school does not receive any financial assistance.

The school provides care, stimulation and education for SO children between the ages of 3 and 16 with pervasive developmental disorders, such as Autism, Down’s syndrome, Epilepsy, Brain damage, Cerebral Palsy, Hard of hearing, Spina Bifida, partially sighted, learning barriers and other problems, all of which affect normal development. SIOC-CDT will be donating two trampolines to replace the broken one. SIOC-CDT employees based in Thabazimbi will also prepare a meal for the kids and hand over educational toys on the day.

Joe Morolong Local Municipality: Thusa Bagodi Community Project

The organisation is based in Tsineng village. It is a community-based care and support services for older persons. The non-profit organisation was registered with Social Development in 2005 with the purpose of taking care of elders and keeping them fit and healthy. They play sports with other similar organisations in Joe Morolong. They have a house where they operate on a weekly basis. The organisation caters for 18 elders. SIOC-CDT will donating blankets, sewing materials, sports items and food parcels.

Gamagara Local Municipality: Kopanang Golden Games

Kopanang Golden Games is a project started as mechanism that could elevate the activities of older person to a higher level. Kopanang Golden Games Dibeng started in 2007 and consists of 40 members. The organisation is registered with DSD and currently operating at the Maria Masilo Leu Multi-Purpose Centre. The project focuses on sports and recreation activities and events whilst at the same time strengthening and advancing service delivery and support to older person. Their goal is to ensure that they provide care, support, protect and develop the vulnerable groups and people with special needs particularly old persons within the community. SIOC-CDT will be donating sports items (Sporting material), food parcels and blankets to keep them warm during their sessions.

Tsantsabane Local Municipality: Wouter Kabouter ECD

This ECD is based in Posdene and has been affected by the recent floods where SIOC-COT assisted with refurbishing the centre. 54 children are catered for in  two classes. The ECD was established in 2002 and is registered with Department of Social Development. SIOC-CDT’s disaster response covered installation of the roof and minor repairs, full rewiring of electricity and painting inside and outside the structure. This did not include the play area. SIOC-CDT will be spending time painting the play area and cooking for the kids to help them settle in the centre after the trauma of seeing their centre being destroyed by the storms. Educational toys will also be donated.

Tsantsabane Local Municipality: Kopanang Bagodi Service Centre

The organisation is based in Boichoko, operating in a structure owned by the government, and shared with other youth groups. It is aimed at improving the quality of lives of elderly citizens that resides in the area by supporting them emotionally and providing them with healthy meals. Their activities include games, literacy and life skills classes, art and crafts as well as prayer and bible sharing. SIOC-CDT will be donating sewing machines, blankets for the elders and providing them with a once off gift of food parcels per elder. 30 elders benefit from this project.

Ga-Segonyana: Morethusi Care of The Aged

This non-profit organisation was registered with DSD in May 2013. It caters for 39 elders in Gasehubane village. The aim of the organisation is to keep elders active through gaming activities and gardening. They operate in an RDP house that they have no ownership of but have land of their own that they currently use for gardening They meet on a weekly basis. SIOC-CDT will be assisting them with gardening materials and seeds as well as blankets. SIOC-CDT will also gift them with food parcels per elder.

2023 Mandela Day initiatives encompass all of below:

Thabazimbi Local Municipality: Tlogotshweu Community Service Centre

The centre registered as an NPO with DSD in January 2011 even though they initially started operating before that, in 2005 funded by the Department of Health and DSD. The centre had 15 active members and currently, only 8 are remaining some of them are living with disability. They operate from Regorogile Extension 2 Clinic. Their aim is to alleviate poverty through food security in the form of a garden which also assists local orphans and feeds the elderly who are dependent on social grants. SIOC-CDT purchased a 3×50 metre net shade with poles and garden sees, plus paid a labourer and provided 8 blankets. Lunch meals were also purchased.

Joe Morolong Local Municipality: Kopano Disability

The organisation is based in Ntswelengwe village and was registered in 2019 with the purpose of empowering people living with disabilities and keeping them active while devising ways of generating income to keep the organisation operational. It caters for 40 members that reside in Ntswelengwe, Manyeding, Ga-Masepa, Ditlharapeng, Ga-Mothibi, Tsaelengwe, and Mahukubung. It is run and managed by people living with disabilities and involves parents of children who live with disabilities as well. Their activities are currently limited to sewing due to inadequate space of operations as they are using someone’s home for their meetings. They make school uniforms for nearby schools. They also make shoes and mats that they sell, and the money is kept in their organisation’s account where they are saving towards having their own place of operation. Ba-Ga Jantjie Traditional Council has granted them land that has not yet been fenced and has no erected structure due to limited funds. SIOC-CDT provided fencing for a 50m x 50m area, diamond mesh wire (including materials and labour and a 40m2 park home with ramps and slab (covering materials and labor costs). SIOC-CDT also provided garden materials (2 x wheelbarrows, 2 x 20 meters water pipe, 2 x 25l water containers ,2 x Rakes, 2 x shovels, 2x forks, 2 x watering cans, 2 x 500ml JoJo tanks) and lunch meals to be shared with the members.

Gamagara Local Municipality: Tswelelopele Club For The Aged

This is a community-based care and support service for older persons registered with DSD since 2002. This project was started to keep elderly persons in the Olifanshoek area active and healthy. They currently have 95 active members who meet on a weekly basis at the Olifantshoek stadium and at Pentecostal church where they rented space for their meetings. They also meet in their garden periodically. Their focus is on sports and recreation activities locally and nationally when they are tournaments whilst working towards food security through their garden activities. Their goal is to ensure that care, support, protection, and development of vulnerable groups particularly old persons within the community is realised. They sometimes receive aid from other organisations and DSD, but it doesn’t cover all their needs. Recently one of the local mines has offered to renovate their garden and that process is currently underway. SIOC-CDT purchased sports items (different sporting balls, relay sticks, skipping ropes, tennis racket sets) and donated them. 95 blankets were also donated and lunch meals were provided to share with the elders.

Tsantsabane Local Municipality: Lebelelang Centre For The Disabled

This is the biggest and only centre for people living with disabilities in Tsantsabane. The centre caters for children living with disabilities in the Newtown area. This centre has been operating at the community hall but has secured land on which local mines have committed to build a structure, this is still in progress. They have 41 members between the ages of 10 and 35 who are enrolled and have professional practitioners looking after them throughout the day. Some are unable to attend on a full-time basis, so the professional caretakers visit them at their homes. Their programme includes learning sessions where they learn movement, and paying attention through listening to stories and musical activities. SIOC-CDT purchased educational toys and equipment (water paint, washing pegs for activities, colouring books, puzzles, heaters and plastic tables and chairs, and 2 x Trampolines for autistic kids). Lunch meals were also purchased.

Ga-Segonyana: Ba’One Intellectual Disability Centre

Ba’One Intellectual Disability Centre is an NPO operating from Seoding village in Ga-Segonyana, registered with the Department of Social Development in 2010. The organisation caters for skills development and skills transfer for intellectually challenged youth between the ages of 18 and 35 through incorporated skills development and skills transfer. Learners who benefit from this school are from across the JTG district.

The centre employs 24 trained volunteers who cater for the needs of the 120 beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are skilled in various trades i.e., welding, woodwork, recycling, sewing, knitting & crocheting, sports, music, arts & crafts etc. The organisation often needs more machinery for their classes as they have a lot of learners who cannot share equipment. SIOC-CDT purchased woodwork materials (table saws, grills, oppressors, chain saws, grinders, paint sprays)

The specific project objectives include:

1. To minimise the number of days girls missed going to school by providing them with sanitary pads;
2. To demystify menstruation and to tackle the stigma that it’s a curse;
3. To empower young women to participate in their daily activities effectively and to meaningfully contribute to their communities; and
4. To decrease the psycho-social challenges many young women face in the rural areas.

• (Joe Morolong) Pako Middle School (ongoing from 2018)
• (Joe Morolong) Kopano Middle School (ongoing from 2018)
• (Tsantsabane) Assmang  Primary school (2019)
• (Tsantababe) HTT Bidi Primary school (2019)
• (Gamagara) Maikaielelo Primary School (2020)
• (Ga-Segonyana) Relekile Primary School (2020)
• (Joe Morolong) Tongwane Middle school (2020)
• (Ga-Segonyana) Vlakfontein Primary school (2020)
• (Tsantsabane) Agang Thuto Primary (2020)
• (Joe Morolong) K S Shuping High school (2020)

The specific project objectives include:

1. To minimise the number of days girls missed going to school by providing them with sanitary pads;
2. To demystify menstruation and to tackle the stigma that it’s a curse;
3. To empower young women to participate in their daily activities effectively and to meaningfully contribute to their communities; and
4. To decrease the psycho-social challenges many young women face in the rural areas.

• (Joe Morolong) Pako Middle School (ongoing from 2018)
• (Joe Morolong) Kopano Middle School (ongoing from 2018)
• (Gamagara) Maikaielelo Primary School (ongoing from 2020)
• (Ga-Segonyana) Relekile Primary School (ongoing from 2020)
• (Joe Morolong) Tongwane Middle school (ongoing from 2020)
• (Ga-Segonyana) Vlakfontein Primary school (ongoing from 2020)
• (Tsantsabane) Agang Thuto Primary (ongoing from 2020)
• (Joe Morolong) K S Shuping High School (ongoing from 2020)
• (Thabazimbi) Dwaalboom Primary (2021)
• (Thabazimbi) Tswelopele Primary School (2021)

The list of this year’s recipient schools, to date, includes:

• Pako Middle School
• K S Shuping High School
• Tongwane Middle School
• Kopano Middle School
• Lesedi High School
• Relekile Primary School
• Vlakfontein Primary School
• Maikaielelo Primary School
• Deben Primary School
• Sishen Intermediate
• Agang Thuto Primary
• Ratang Thuto High School
• Dwaalboom Primary
• Tswelopele Primary School
• Northam Comprehensive School

This programme is across the beneficiary communities in the JTG, Tsantsabane and Thabazimbi municipalities, predominately Joe Morolong due to the vastness of the area.

The SIOC-CDT team worked with local government, local development partners and the Department of Education to identify schools with a high rate of children in need of school shoes. Funding requests from community members who saw a need in certain schools but didn’t have resources to intervene were also considered.

335 pairs of shoes have been distributed

11 schools were visited at a rate of two per day

Project objectives include:

• To minimize the number of days learners missed going to school as a result of lacking a school uniform;
• To encourage high performance and motivate learners from impoverished backgrounds;
• Profile SIOC-CDT as an active organisation that understands and responds to community challenges;
• To augment our Education focus area;

Learners received a batch of school uniforms which included the following items per learner:

• 2 x t-shirts (long sleeve and short sleeve)
• 1 x skirt/tunic (girl)/trouser (boy)
• 1 x stationery pack (must include 4pens, 4 pencils, standard eraser, standard scissor, 42g Pritt glue, pencil case, standard sharpener, 30cm ruler, set of mathematical instruments)
• 1 x school jersey
• 1 x school shoes (toughees for boys and buccaneer for girls)

The project benefitted the following schools:

• Marataditse Primary School (Churchhill, Joe Morolong)
• Tongwane Middle School (Churchill, Joe Morolong)
• Bojelagomo Primary School (Laxey, Joe Morolong)
• K S Shuping High School (Tsineng, Joe Morolong)
• Itekeleng Primary School (Maphinick, Joe Morolong)
• Pako Middle School (Joe Morolong)
• Kopano Middle School (Cassel, Joe Morolong
• Relekile Primary School (Ditshotswaneng, Ga-Segonyana)
• Vlakfontein Primary school (Kagung, Ga-Segonyana)
• Maikaielelo Primary School (Olifantshoek, Gamagara)
• Agang Thuto Primary school (Tsantsabane)
• Dwaalboom Primary (Thabazimbi)
• Tswelopele Primary School (Thabazimbi)