ESG News South Africa

Mama Mirriam wins Clover Mama Afrika Smarties Week

At the Clover Mama Afrika Smarties Week, a hands-on training course that sees the Clover Mama Afrika women travel from different provinces to partake in a week of value added workshops, Mama Mirriam Toni has won the Ultimate Cleanliness and Hygiene Award, resulting in a R150,000 donation by MiX Telematics Enterprise BEE Trust.
Professor Elain Vlok and Mama Mirriam Toni.
Professor Elain Vlok and Mama Mirriam Toni.

MiX Telematics and Clover Mama Afrika will go to the Ncedisizwe Centre in Mbekweni, Western Cape, to renovate Mama Mirriam’s centre 18-22 July 2016.

“There is no doubt that supporting communities in need, especially where young children, our future leaders, are involved, is critical to creating comfortable environments for them to develop and grow into healthy adults,” says Professor Elain Vlok, manager for Clover’s corporate services and founder of Clover Mama Afrika.

“We are proud to again be able to support Mama Mirriam through this renovation and believe that her commitment to the programme over the past five years is starting to show results for her and her community. She is a true leader and consistently meets all the programmes’ objectives.”

The R150,000 donation will result in the repair of electrical and plumbing aspects, as well as repairing of the balustrades. The haven will also be receiving new bunk beds, linen, curtains as well as stoves and a range of other small items, to finish off the centre the Clover Mama Afrika way.

“As an ongoing sponsor of the Clover Mama Afrika project, the company is proud to be part of this renovation and believe that we are giving back to a community very much in need, while supporting a woman who is showing true commitment to the children that she supports – invaluable in today’s society,” says Mariette Myburgh, executive: transformation at MiX.

“Giving back is all about creating access to skills, development opportunities and resources to ensure that we are growing individuals who can effectively support their communities and we believe that this project is yet another way we are supporting this thinking.”

It is not just about the money and the MiX and Clover Mama Afrika teams will get physically involved in this renovation by providing support, assistance and management of the project to ensure Mama Mirriam can focus on the children she supports.

“We are reliant on sponsorships to provide these Mamas with the incentive to do better, as well as for the ongoing resource allocation that they require each year and there is no doubt that MiX Telematics’ contribution, both from a time and monetary perspective, goes a long way in providing adequate support,” concludes Vlok.

The Clover Mama Afrika project started as a humble project 12 years ago and has since developed into Clover’s flagship CSI programme. The project has to date appointed 42 Mamas throughout South Africa. These remarkable women collectively care for over 15,500 children and 2,500 elderly people, many of which are abused, orphaned, homeless and vulnerable.

The programme empowers these Mamas with vital skills such as cooking, baking, sewing, crocheting, business management, food gardening and bread baking skills. Over and above the training sessions, these women are all supplied with the necessary tools, equipment and infrastructure to create an income and give back to their communities.

For more information, go to www.clovermamaafrika.com.

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