Pretoria - Brand South Africa will join the international community in commemorating the Nelson Mandela Day by making a difference in the lives of South Africans through its flagship programme, Play Your Part.
Play Your Part is a nationwide programme by Brand South Africa created to inspire, empower and celebrate active citizenship in South Africa.
This programme aims to encourage South Africans to actively participate in improving their communities which will in turn drive the implementation of the National Development Plan which is South Africa’s blueprint for economic development and social cohesion by eliminating poverty and reducing inequality by 2030.
“Its objective is to lift the spirit of our nation by inspiring all South Africans to contribute to positive change, become involved and start doing – because a nation of people who care deeply for one another and the environment in which they live is good for everyone,” Brand South Africa said on Tuesday.
As part of Nelson Mandela Day, Brand South Africa will engage with communities in various parts of the country by supporting charitable causes aimed at improving the lives of fellow South Africans.
Play Your Part app
Among the programmes, will be the Play Your Part app for active citizenship which aims to build pride, patriotism, and a spirit of active citizenship.
In partnership with GEM Project, they have developed a Play your Part app which contains a number of organisations needing assistance from South Africans.
The app is a social development drive that aims to mobilise communities within themselves so that they can help each other rise.
These include the provision of clothing, assistance with homework, job shadowing and skills development, which all South Africans can support.
Once an individual has participated in assisting a cause, they are eligible to receive a reward via the app, termed “a GEM”, which can be converted into a number of products such as airtime/data, pre-paid electricity, or even movie tickets.
Brand South Africa’s Acting Chief Marketing Officer Sithembile Ntombela said the partnership is an extension not only to the commemorative month’s activities and actions of goodwill by South Africans.
“We hope that the nation will continue to contribute to positive change because a nation of people who care deeply for one another, and the environment in which they live, is beneficial for everyone. This is our call to action so that everyday can become a Mandela Day,” said Ntombela.
In order to ensure continuity and mobilise support even beyond Mandela Month, corporates are also encouraged to donate GEMs so that they can be allocated towards causes on an ongoing basis.
Mponegele Ke Itirele Orphanage Centre
Another project includes the refurbishing the Mponegele Ke Itirele Orphanage Centre, in Limpopo.
On Friday, Brand South Africa will play its part refurbishing the orphanage and assisting with general maintenance on the premises as well as participate in the Mayoral Nelson Mandel Day celebrations on Saturday at the ZZ2 Farm, in Limpopo.
The workers on the farm will teach school children from the orphanage about agriculture as well as share their skills with the children which will empower them to grow their own vegetable gardens at the orphanage.
Blitz Clean Up Day
Also on Friday, Brand South Africa staff will join other active citizens to clean up London Road and Juskei River as part of the wider Green Economy Sustainable Job Creation Concept.
The aim is to have a “Blitz Clean Up Day” of the London/Vincent Tshabala Road and Jukskei River under the banner of #GreeningAlex.
“Having a cleaner Alexandra will make the area more attractive to investors and businesspeople which will contribute to economic development and job creation and will therefore improve the lives of the community,” said Brand South Africa.
Other projects
Other projects include the Brand South Africa’s Chair of the Marketing Committee Thebe Ikalafeng who will join other South African imminent personalities who will summit Mt Kilamanjaro on Saturday.
The #Trek4Mandela climbers are aiming to raise funds to keep 270 000 girls in school.
Keeping girls in school is directly related to the global competitiveness of a country.
Brand South Africa invites all South Africans to play their part this Nelson Mandela Day to keep a girl child in school by SMSing “Thebe” to 42513 to pledge R30. - SAnews.gov.za
