Absa adds warmth to the coldest village in the country
an Absa delegation representing Absa Group Chief Executive Dr Steve Booysen, travelled to one of the country's coldest regions to deliver a little warmth and cheer to its residents.
The delegation presented 2 374 blankets to residents of the village of Rhodes and the surrounding areas.
The handover took place at the tiny hamlet on Saturday. Each and every resident of the Senqu area, situated high in the mountains of the Eastern Cape and bordering on the Kingdom of Lesotho, was given a warm blanket.
"The Rhodes district is not only a region suffering from high levels of poverty and in dire need of socio-economic development but it also bears the brunt of bitterly cold and harsh winters. At Absa we felt we had to do something that immediately and significantly improves the lives of the local community," says Booysen.
In his message to the local community, Booysen encouraged all South Africans to help add a little warmth to those left in the cold this winter by donating a blanket to those in need. Individuals, organisations and businesses who would like to help give a little warmth to those in other parts of South Africa can contact Annemarie Mostert, the National Co-ordinator of Absa Sesego Cares online at [email protected]. Absa Sesego Cares is a charity programme formed by the spouses of the Absa employees who believe that if all South Africans collectively continue strengthening partnerships and help further entrench a culture of caring, and taking responsibility for each other, our investment in people will reward us with a future that can live up to the dream of all our citizens.
Poverty-alleviation
The donation of blankets to the residents of the Senqu district is just one of a number of Absa-supported poverty-alleviation and community-empowerment initiatives put in place in the Eastern and southern Cape. Last year, the Absa Foundation invested almost R2,5 million in a wide range of development projects. These include teaching women to sew, providing food and shelter for orphans and vulnerable children, setting up early childhood development programmes and financially supporting the promotion and development of maths, science, technology and entrepreneurial skills in local schools.
""In addition, we also assisted with a number of job-creation initiatives as well as HIV/AIDS programmes," says Booysen.
"In each of these projects our goal is to build the capacity of the communities and individuals involved and to also foster a culture of caring and a desire to make a difference."
