The Electoral Commission (IEC) joined the rest of South Africa yesterday to celebrate Mandela Day. Staff spent their 67 minutes on several projects.
The Chief Electoral Officer, Mr Mosotho Moepya, said he was happy that staff made the time to give their 67 minutes despite preparations for the 2014 national and provincial elections being in full swing.
IEC staff at national office spent their 67 minutes starting earlier this week by putting together Madiba care boxes for the 17 girls currently in the care of the Makeba Centre for Girls based in Glen Austin, Midrand. About 40 staff members were involved collecting donations, packing the care boxes and delivering them.
The care boxes were delivered to the staff and residents of the Makeba Centre for Girls at a morning ceremony on Thursday, 18 July 2013. Each box contained toiletries, clothing and snacks, which were gratefully received by the girls and the Centre project manager. The IEC also took the opportunity to engage in some voter education at the hand-over ceremony, encouraging the older girls to register on the national voters’ roll as soon as they turned 16 years of age.
The Makeba Centre for Girls, selected with the help of IEC staff members, is home to girls between the ages of 11 and 19. It was founded in 2003 by musical legend Miriam Makeba. The Centre provides a sanctuary for girls who have been destitute or abused, and have been removed from their circumstances through a court process. The Centre strives to provide the physical, emotional and financial support the girls need while they continue with their studies. It also aims to bring hope into the lives of the girls and equips them with the life skills they need to have a better future.
The Centre receives a government grant per child. However, these funds do not extend to the maintenance of the facility or the individual requirements of the girls. It therefore depends on private and corporate sponsorship to nurture the girls physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The house in Midrand has the capacity at present to house up to 20 girls at a time. There are currently 17 girls at the Centre, with two more due to arrive by end July 2013. The duration of stay at the Centre for most girls is two to five years. For more information, please visit: www.makebacentre.org.za
IEC provincial offices also gave 67 minutes of their time to worthy causes. For example, in KwaZulu-Natal IEC staff spent the day painting a block of classrooms at the Amaoti Primary School, in Inanda, Ethekwini, while in the North West staff helped serve lunch of soup and vetkoek (magwenya) that they had prepared to the 49 children at Rooigrond Pre-School, in the Rooigrond informal settlement. Staff also donated clothes and shoes to the school.
Staff at the IEC in Limpopo spent their day at Leseding Crèche, in Lephalale Municipality, which has in its care children from the Steenbokpan farming area. Staff members donated much-needed chairs to the crèche, cleaned the facility and an area of the yard intended for use as a clinic, and treated the staff and children to a special Mandela Day cake.
In Mpumalanga, staff joined numerous community initiatives across the province in municipalities within which they conduct IEC business.
Meanwhile, staff at the IEC in the Western Cape participated in the local human chain event in honour of the 95th birthday of Nelson Mandela. They were also accompanied by IEC Commissioner Raenette Taljaard as they gathered in the cold, winter weather to form part of the human chain at the Athlone Stadium in Klipfontein Road.
Nelson Mandela committed his life to the struggle for justice for all. South Africans continue to unite as a nation in their celebration of Mandela Day. These celebrations inspire us all to appreciate and exercise the hard-won right to vote and to keep the flame of South Africa’s electoral democracy burning brightly. In this way we truly honour the life of the father of our nation, Tata Madiba.
ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Centurion
19 July 2013
For media queries: Please contact Kate Bapela on 082 600 6386
For media interviews: Please email requests to [email protected]
You can also find the IEC on -
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/IECSouthAfrica
• Twitter: @IECSouthAfrica
• You Tube: www.youtube.com/user/IECSouthAfrica