ON Nelson Mandela Day, Johannesburg Development Agency staff spent their 67 minutes at Bertrams Junior School, where they encouraged learners to pursue a career in science.
The school is a regular in the agency’s outreach efforts. In May, it donated 173 science, maths and fiction books to the school, and the latest visit was for staff to check up on how the learners were faring.
They found that the library was a favourite place for many pupils.
The books are additional study material for learners in grades R and four. The initiative was spearheaded by the JDA’s chief operating officer, Nkosinathi Manzana, who made the official announcement of the handover on Nelson Mandela Day.
The JDA donated a plaque bearing the name of the school and the names of the sponsors behind the initiative, on Nelson Mandela Day.
Its involvement with Bertrams Junior is part of the agency’s ongoing corporate social investment efforts, in which it assists in areas in which it does business. The handing over of books was its third CSI project since the beginning of July.
Agency staff also painted classrooms at Leratong Primary School in Orlando, and planted vegetables in a rooftop garden in the inner city.
It was not the first time the agency spent its Nelson Mandela Day time at Bertrams Junior. Last year, staff cleaned and rearranged the grounds at the inner city school. They also made a black and white mosaic of Madiba for the school.
Nelson Mandela Day is observed internationally on 18 July. On this day, people are encouraged to spend 67 minutes doing something for others, in recognition of the 67 years of his life Madiba devoted to serving humanity.
Bertrams Primary School shares a birthday with the former president. The school was opened on 18 July 1918, the same day Mandela was born in Eastern Cape, and its first learners filled its classrooms a few days later.
In the past few years, the JDA has worked on regeneration of the Greater Ellis Park area, including revamping Bertrams Park. At the time, it committed its 2008/9 corporate social investment budget to Bertrams Junior and Troyeville Primary School. It has contributed towards the schools through cash donations, professional fees, labour and materials.