Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela mine demonstrated its care towards the most vulnerable people in the Tsantsabane municipal area by handing out food parcels and basic hygiene products to 495 households during April and May.
This equates to almost 2 500 beneficiaries.
The Tsantsabane Cares Nutritional Support Programme (Covid-19) is just the first phase of the bigger Tsantsabane Cares Programme and this is a programme that is supported together with faith-based organisations in Postmasburg.
The objective of the programme calls together various stakeholders to support and play a role in addressing burning issues in the community.
The programme was launched last month during the visit of Kumba’s CEO Themba Mkhwanazi to provide nutritional support for vulnerable families in the area.
This emergency relief service was accompanied by educational awareness on Covid-19 through information leaflets as a lack of knowledge was experienced in communities on issues such as social distancing, the importance of maintaining required hygiene levels and wearing of masks.
The programme was launched in partnership with the National Religious Association for Social Development (NRASD) which is responsible for project management, the Department of Social Development, and the local faith-based organisations in the community.
George Benjamin, manager: Public Affairs at Kolomela mine, says at its core the Tsantsabane Cares Programme provides a holistic and sustainable approach to addressing social challenges in the local community.
The programme will run over the next two years.
“We believe that important data collected during the first phase allowed us to make a sustainable impact in the lives of the community, addressing their specific needs.”
Dr Marlene Mahokoto, NRASD’s programme manager, says this important information, such as the data regarding child-headed households (CHHs), was shared with the local office of the Department of Social Development. NRASD as well as the National Department of Social Development, allowing faith-based communities to assist in the identification of these child-headed households.
Apart from addressing social issues, the same data is also very valuable in addressing health matters through our Community-Oriented Primary Health Care (COPC) project.
Dr Mahokoto says this initiative, which is part of an integrated health and social community programme, is headed by Prof. Tessa Marcus and her team from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
