Lives of 350 learners changed by facility upgrade

Thomas Schaefer, Chairman and Managing Director: Volkswagen Group South Africa with Vernon Naidoo, VW Community Trust; Remmington Zokufa, Trustee of VW Community Trust; Percy Smith, Director: Human Resources at Volkswagen Group South Africa; Nonkqubela Maliza, Director: Corporate and Government Affairs at Volkswagen Group South Africa and Alice Nkqayi, Principal at Ntlemeza Primary School.

International Mandela Day encourages South Africans to give 67 minutes of their time to help make a difference in the community they live and work in. Volkswagen Group South Africa’s Show of Hands volunteers dedicated 300 minutes of their time and skills painting and gardening at Ntlemeza Primary School in Kwanobuhle, Uitenhage on Saturday 16 July.

This International Nelson Mandela Day volunteer action marks the 16th community volunteer project initiated by Volkswagen since 2011 in its Show of Hands employee volunteerism campaign. More than 1 500 employees have participated in the campaign to date.

Ntlemeza Primary School has 350 learners from Grade R to Grade 7 and the school buildings were in a serious state of disrepair before VWSA intervened. Basic conditions such as working toilets with doors, classrooms with smooth floors were non-existent and in dire need of repair.

The Show of Hands initiative focused on the Grade R Block and the Ablution Block at the school. Contractors assisted the Show of Hands team prior to the event by repairing walls, ceilings and floors, new doors were installed and toilets were repaired.

“Being able to make an impact on the lives of 350 young South Africans in this manner, makes me proud to be the leader of this great Volkswagen family. Seeing our volunteers giving off their time on a Saturday morning is wonderful and incredibly inspiring,” said Thomas Schaefer, Chairman and Managing Director: Volkswagen Group South Africa.

Celebrated on 18 July every year, the over-arching objective of International Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action and help change the world for the better. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere to “Take action, inspire change, and make everyday a Mandela Day”.

“Mr Mandela said that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world and we know that for a child to learn they also need to have an environment that is safe, warm and encouraging. We have been able to do this for the Grade R learners at Ntlemeza Primary School by repairing things that were broken and creating a stimulating environment in which to learn,” said Schaefer.

The Show of Hands Volunteer Programme is an ongoing initiative under the Volkswagen for Good campaign which is managed by the VW Community Trust.