JG Afrika is proud to participate with non-profit organisations throughout the country via our corporate social investment programme (CSI), and we salute all those hard-working, mostly unappreciated people who make it their goal to develop young people and uplift poor communities. We highlight the sterling work done by two such Cape Town-based organisations with which we recently had the privilege to interact.

HITTING THE HOOPS
Hout Bay Snipers Basketball Club “Our aim is to mould future leaders through the game of basketball.”
There is an informal settlement in the greater Hout Bay Valley area called Imizamo Yethu where some 33 600 people live in shacks with minimal water supply, few toilets and no sewerage system. The river that runs through this settlement has the highest level of e-coli bacteria that has ever been recorded in South Africa. It is a joy-sapping environment in which to live.

Some distance away, situated on the mountain slopes between Hout Bay Harbour and The Sentinel peak, is Hangberg. It is a place where violence, crime and drug use run rampant. It is a tough, dangerous environment in which to be a kid.
Thank goodness for the hope-bringers!

It was Pelé, the world famous Brazilian soccer player who said, “Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people” – and he would know first-hand, growing up as he did in abject poverty. It is this same goal that drives Bryn Mbulawa, coach and mentor of the Hout Bay Snipers Basketball Club, as he strives to lift the sights of young people out of the poverty-mire into a vision of their future potential. He uses basketball as a means to mould the country’s future leaders by keeping school-goers active, motivated and passionate about the game.

We pay tribute to his dedication and commitment, and we were pleased to recently donate towards the cost of transporting team members to matches and towards purchasing kits and basketballs. Moreover, JG Afrika contributed towards the sponsorship of two talented members of the girl’s team who were selected to partake in further training in the United States.

INSPIRING THE COMMUNITY
MyDunoon “We are a movement. Locals with a heart to unify the community, inspire the people and create change.”
Started in 2014 by Christine Williams, who left the comfort of her home in Camps Bay to take up residence in the Dunoon informal settlement near Milnerton, MyDunoon is a registered NGO with a mission to bring unity by hosting events that nurture community pride.

Williams says they hold regular meetings with stakeholders in the community, including representatives of schools, business and other non-profit organisations.

“This helps everyone network and discuss the problems we all face in Dunoon. We’re like a central nervous system linking people together.”

JG Afrika’s Cape Town staff were delighted to donate towards MyDunoon’s special events and programmes that have such far-reaching positive impacts on the people of this settlement where unemployment is high and morale is low.