Wise words once spoken by
old President Nelson Mandela was, “… to be free is
not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a
way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
By that definition freedom
not only means liberation from oppression but also the
alleviation of poverty and the welfare of others. Hence
Nelson Mandela’s birthday is celebrated every year by
dedicating 67 minutes in aid of charitable work to
organisations in one’s immediate environment.
Capt V.Pillay handing over washing machine and stove to
Mrs Olga Baker
SAS SALDANHA is a unit who
not only dedicated 67 minutes in aid of charitable work
but believes that everyday should be a Mandela day,
whether it is at work, by brightening up the day of a
colleague, or in and around the community. Since the
beginning of the year the unit has dedicated time and
effort towards the renovation and assistance of Non
Governmental Organisations within the Saldanha Bay/Vredenburg
area.
On Wednesday 11 July 2012
the count down to the Mandela Day celebrations began.
SAS SALDANHA kicked off the week by revamping the garden
of the West Coast Aids Initiative situated in Vredenburg.
This organisation managed by Mrs Olga Dyker is an
organisation that cares for people infected and affected
by HIV Aids by focusing on their social development. In
one of their programs they adopt 50 families per year
and give these families social assistance by sending
caregivers to provide basic education to families unable
to send youngsters to crèche. On 18 July 2012 SAS
SALDANHA was able to donate a washing machine and stove
to this organisation through donations received from WO1
L. Van Eeden. Upon handing over the equipment to this
organisation Capt V. Pillay thanked the organisation for
the beautiful work that they are doing in the community
because people often only start realizing the affects of
HIV Aids once they are either infected or affected by it
directly. He went on to say, he hopes the contribution
made by SAS SALDANHA enables them to further positively
change the lives of those whom they encounter.
In addition to the work done
at the West Coast Aids Initiative the unit then went a
few kilometres further into Vredenburg and played their
part in the cleaning up of a field once populated by
weed and wildflowers and turned it into a soil rich
field ready for the planting at Siyabonga Care Village.
Unit members tackled this labour intensive task over
period 16 – 17 July 2012. The aim of this exercise was
to get the field ready for sports to be played on this
field on Wednesday 18 July 2012. In addition it was also
to maintain the ground in such a way that Siyabonga
staff members are able to grow a vegetable garden on
this field in future.
SAS SALDANHA did not stop
there. The unit with the assistance of the South African
Navy Regional Spouses Forum (SANRSF) went local and
donated food to Mommy’s House on 18 July 2012, a soup
kitchen run by Mrs. Rene Van Wyk in Hopland Saldanha
Bay. Staff members and SANRSF members were welcomed with
open arms by Mrs. Van Wyk known by everyone in the
community as Mumzy. For the past year Mumzy had been
feeding the community around her out of her home kitchen
in Hopland without any governmental assistance.
Overall SAS SALDANHA opened
up their hearts to the community in celebration of
possibly one of the greatest Presidents of our time. The
unit remains true to its core function which is to
provide quality Military Education and Training for
selected SAN Ratings and NCO’s in support of the SAN’s
mission and in keeping with that is also committed to
strengthening the image of the SAN within the
surrounding community and letting the community know
that the Navy is indeed “The People’s Navy”.
Patients at Siyabonga Care Village ready for the day's
sport activities
In conclusion Nelson
Mandela once said “No one is born hating another
person because of the color of his skin, or his
background, or his religion. People must learn to hate,
and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to
love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart
than its opposite.”
