“In life, every man has
obligations, an obligation to his family, to his
parents, to his wife and children; and an obligation to
his people, his community and his country” – Nelson
Mandela. In the true essence of his words, Tata Madiba
has fulfilled his obligations beyond expectations. In
doing so, he earned himself respect and has grown to be
a world-wide hero and icon through his innumerable good
deeds. Today his name is synonymous to the word
‘self-less’ as in his whole life he has always put
others before himself.
Members of NSD on completion of the days tasks.
In honour, respect and
appreciation of the change that Tata has brought about
to society, the initiative of dedicating 67 minutes
towards doing charity work was initiated. Naval Station
Durban (NSD) extended a helping hand and engaged itself
in two programmes where members of the station paid a
visit to two schools.
The first group went to
Mbalasi Primary School. Mbalasi Primary School is a
school situated in Umlazi that educates a total of 560
learners who are mostly orphaned by HIV/AIDS and come
from very poor backgrounds. Many of the learners hardly
have full uniforms and walk to school barefoot. The
school runs a feeding scheme and depends highly on
donations to keep the children clothed and fed. The
school has previously requested that the SA Navy renders
any form of support. The call was heeded when members of
NSD made donations of clothes and toys which were then
taken to the school on 5 June 2012.
Due to the obvious state of
poverty in the school, members of NSD felt the need to
return on Mandela Day. On arrival, members worked
tirelessly starting a vegetable garden for the school as
well as preparing lunch. It is very important to teach
children from a young age to plant and maintain food
gardens as this is a healthy and cost-effective manner
to ensure one always has food on the table. The
vegetable garden consisted of cabbage, tomatoes,
beetroot, lettuce, spinach and pumpkin.
The other group visited
Inqgungqulu High School, situated in Hillcrest, where
they spent the day painting two classrooms and doing
other repairs such as replacing broken windows and
lights. While the members were busy at work, Dr N.S.P.
Sishi, Mr E. Mosuwe from the Department of Education and
Mr M. Makhanya the Ward Manager came and extended their
appreciation to the Officer Commanding and members of
NSD for dedicating their day to the school. Dr Sishi
further encouraged the school principal to involve the
Governing Body as well as the community to assist in
ensuring that the school is well maintained at all
times.
67 Minutes for Madiba, can
change the lives of many people. As old as he may be, we
should always remember Tata Madiba’s words “Pride in our
country is a common bond between us all. It is the
essence of our new patriotism; the onus is on us,
through hard work, honesty and integrity, to reach for
the stars.”
Happy 94th
Birthday Madiba!
