Special Appreciation To Entities That Lend Helping Hand To City’s Vulnerable Citizens
Companies and organisations are encouraged to practise Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as one of the ways of impacting positively the surrounding communities in which they do business. This practice does not only help the entity improve its brand image but it also yields the ripple effect of attracting customer loyalty as more and more customers and clients tend to associate with pro-social companies and organisations. The Municipal Council of Manzini is one of the organisations in Eswatini that view CSR as an integral part of its brand image. The Municipality runs a total of eight neighbourhood care points (also referred to as social centres) that benefit Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in the city’s low income areas. Through this CSR programme, the Municipality strives to assist children aged 0-18 years get at least one meal per day. Approximately 1,400 children are currently benefitting from this programme; and these are from all eight social centres, namely; Mangwaneni, Moneni, Murray Camp, Masekweni, Ticancweni, Zakhele, Old Zakhele and Ngwane Park. A large proportion of food supplies to these social centres come from both the Municipality and the World Food Programme (WFP). However, some food donations are received from various companies and civil society organizations.
The feeding programme is the main service that is provided at the centres. Other services provided are free pre-school education, free healthcare and others. It is worth-noting that keeping these centres consistently running throughout the year is not a walk in the park. Besides the rise in the cost of keeping the feeding programme afloat, in the face of rising inflation, there are other operational overheads such as water bills, electricity bills as well as other necessities like firewood that need to be provided. It is against this backdrop that as the Municipality begins a new financial year (last financial year ended 31st March 2022) it would like to extend special appreciation to the business community that has lent a helping hand towards ensuring sustenance of this CSR programme. Some have supported as a once-off whilst others have been consistent in their support. The Municipality is grateful to all of them for demonstrating good corporate citizenship. Other companies and organisations, even church organisations, are encouraged to lend a helping hand and contribute to the development of the city’s future generation. The Municipality is also appreciative of individual members of society who also take time to make a difference in these social centres in many ways, including donations or even just spending time with the children. For donations, the Municipality may be contacted on 2508 5091/7913 2711. The following are companies that extended support to the social centres during the last financial year (2021/2022);
- Stafanutti Stocks – Two 5000-litre water tanks and vegetable seedlings to Mangwaneni Social Centre.
- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) – Food items for all the social centres
- Eswatini Water Services Corporation – Swings, children’s toys and food items
- The Closet – Clothing for children and social centre volunteers
- Inner City Mission for Children – Food items
- Boxer Stores – Food items
- ADDRA – Income Generation Projects for social centre volunteers
- Eswatini Parking – Christmas treat for one of the social centres
- CHEIL Engineering Consultants – Food items
- Nurses Association – Food items
- Premier Bakeries – 200 loaves of bread
…TIME TO TAKE CARE OF CITY’S ELDERLY CITIZENS
The Municipal Council of Manzini has embarked on a new programme that seeks to assist needy elderly people within the City of Manzini. Its basis is an observation to the effect that some elderly people tend to experience neglect from their own children. This is despite that old age is a period where the elderly need acute care and support from their children and relatives as their life tends to be fraught with many social issues such as ill-health and emotional stress. Compounding the challenge is that these elderly citizens often find themselves having to take care of grandchildren whose parents have either passed on or do not have a means of raising their children. These and many other factors render the elderly more vulnerable; thus requiring some form of social assistance. As part of this new initiative by the Municipality, a total of 120 Manzini urban elderly citizens were during the 2021 festive season presented with grocery hampers as Christmas gifts. The Municipality’s desire is for this gesture not just to be a once-off but to gravitate into many other periodic social interventions throughout the year. Winter is fast approaching, for example, and there are many interventions that could be extended to the city’s elderly citizens during that season. The business sector and all other corporate citizens are requested to offer a helping hand towards this initiative. For more information and how entities and individual citizens may assist, the Municipality may be contacted on 2508 5091/7913 2711. Special recognition and appreciation are extended to the following companies who contributed towards the success of the elderly Christmas treat;
- Swaziland Milling – Mealie-meal
- Hyatt Centre – Eric and George Goolam – Packets of sugar
- KTM Bakeries – Confectionery
- Somi Mills – Cooking oil and bath soap
- Mr Naseer and brothers – Loaves of bread
- Growmore – packets of sugar beans
…STD 5, FORM 3 RESULTS: CONGRATULATIONS TO MANZINI SCHOOLS
The Municipal Council of Manzini takes this opportunity to congratulate the Manzini-based schools which excelled in the Standard 5 and Form 3 examinations. Special congratulations are extended to the pupils who gave it their all and ensured that they pass the examinations notwithstanding the interruptions in the school calendar year. The Municipality wishes them all the best in the years ahead. On the same note, the Municipality would like to recognise and appreciate teachers and parents for the support that they extended to the pupils throughout the academic year; and particularly during the examinations season. To the pupils who did not make it, the Municipality encourages them not to give up hope but instead work even harder so that they also pass going forward.
…CLOSE TO 200 ATTEND MONENI YOUTH HEALTH DAY
The Municipal Council of Manzini last Thursday hosted a Youth Health Day which was attended by approximately 200 youths of Moneni under Ward 9. The event was held within the premises of the Moneni Free Evangelical Assemblies church. Its purpose was to disseminate information on health related issues that commonly affect the youth such as HIV and AIDS, mental health, sexual health reproductive rights and menstrual health. The youth were also sensitised against engaging in unacceptable social behaviour such as drug and substance abuse and gender-based violence. Various organisations, including Family Life Association of Eswatini (FLAS), SAFAIDS, Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), Lusweti, Phumelela Project and Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) also participated in the dissemination of various messages to the youth. Apart from information dissemination, free HIV testing and Covid-19 vaccination services were offered. The following photos were taken during the event, which was also attended by Ward 9 Councillor Henry Kunene…