Every South African knows 18 July is Mandela Day. This is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy; it is a global movement to continue his life’s work and to change our world for the better. The overall message is: Nelson Mandela fought for social justice for 67 years. You can start with just 67 minutes.
Here are some ideas on how you can contribute on Mandela Day.
- Contact your local HIV organisation and find out how you can help.
- Volunteer at your local hospice.
- Donate toys to the children's ward at your local hospital and spend time entertaining the children.
- Volunteer to walk dogs and clean kennels at your local animal shelter.
- Organise a group in your neighbourhood and make soup and sandwiches for the homeless.
At Vodacom, we treat every day as Mandela Day. As a brand with a purpose for more than 25 years, we have been using technology to bring about positive social change. Our focus areas are Inclusion for All, Digital Society and Planet. Here are a few of our projects.
Smile Foundation
Vodacom's partnership with the Smile Foundation has changed lives. The Smile Foundation provides reconstructive surgery to children who were born with cleft lips and/or palates, which is not only an aesthetic issue but also impacts their ability to suckle as well as their speech development. Since 2007, Vodacom has donated over R19.2 million, bringing smiles to 570 children.
Vodacom Change the World Programme
This programme allows South African volunteers to do what they love for a whole year – participants can work for their chosen non-profit organisation (NPO) and Vodacom pays their salaries! Click here to find out more about the Vodacom Change the World Programme.
Connected Farmer
This cloud-based web and mobile software solution links agribusinesses to farmers. Businesses are able to have access to all their farmers through a database and they can communicate with them individually or in groups. This helps farmers to promote sustainable agricultural practices and risk reduction and allows them to touch base quickly and easily.
LGBTIQA+ Vodacom initiatives
Inclusion and diversity are very close to our hearts. This is why we've been involved in a number of LGBTIQA+ projects, among them Cape Town and Johannesburg Pride events, Spirit Day (to show support against those who are victimised), and opportunities to educate and empower our LGBTIQA+ youth.
Internal support
We take giving back seriously. Our staff receive two days of annual volunteer leave, which they can use to give back to the community in whichever way is important to them.
You can find out more about the other ways we are Connecting for Good here.
Header photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash
