Sasol and The Embassy of South Africa Celebrate Mandela Day
To mark the international observance of Mandela Day, leading South African chemicals and energy company Sasol and His Excellency Prof. Shirish Soni, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of South Africa to Qatar visited the Dreama Orphans Care Center and gifted The Health Park board game to the children of Dreama on the occasion of Mandela Day, sharing the spirit of Nelson Mandela by giving back to society through simple and meaningful actions.
Based on the desire to achieve social and human development in the country, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser established the Orphans Care Center during the year 2002. Its objective is to provide essential care to children of deceased and unidentified parents, and children who have been temporarily or permanently deprived of a normal family environment.
During the visit, His Excellency, the Ambassador of South Africa to Qatar and Phinda Vilakazi, President of GTL Ventures at Sasol talked about Nelson Mandela and his legacy and vision. The Executive Director, Ms. Mariam Al Misnad, presented a detailed explanation of Dreama Orphans Care Center followed by a tour introducing the facilities and amenities of the center.
Maryam Bint Ali Bin Naser Al-Misnad, Executive Director of Dreama said, “Educating our kids on the value of giving back and integrating them in to society is one of the important objectives for Dreama. We believe that children have the power to create a positive impact in the community, and by learning from the shining example of leaders like Mandela, our leaders of tomorrow will truly shine in their actions. We thank Sasol’s contribution towards our children, and His Excellency Prof. Shirish Soni for the visit, and we hope that Mandela’s legacy will always be reflected around the world. Moreover, we believe that caring for orphans is an important social responsibility; therefore, Dreama strives to strengthen its partnerships with all sectors of society to achieve its objectives.”
On this occasion, His Excellency Prof. Ambassador Shirish Soni said, “Anyone can follow in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela through simple and meaningful actions that reflect Mandela’s ideals which were: fairness and justice, service, dignity, peace, and freedom. We thank Dreama for hosting us today and Sasol for their ongoing contribution towards society. We encourage all South Africans and members of civil society to contribute back to their local communities around the world.”
Dreama Orphans Care Center is a pioneering foundation in providing care to orphans and integrating them into society. It contributes by providing necessary care to orphan children in need, and settling them down in foster families, integrating them into society in line with the values of the Qatar Social Work Foundation. The center is committed to providing services with responsibility, privacy, equality and partnership. The center qualifies foster families on the basis that they meet several criteria: the family should be of Qatari nationality, residing in Qatar on a permanent basis, and composed of a married husband and wife. In exceptional cases, a single woman without a husband may be qualified, if there are sufficient qualities that support her to care for and raise a child.
Mandela Day was launched in 2009 to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s birthday and his 67 years of public service. This day calls members of civil society to spend at least 67 minutes during the month of July, a minute for every year Mandela worked, doing significant actions that will drive a positive global change, impacting the world we live in today.
The Health Park board game is an educational tool developed by Sasol and Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA) last year, under Sasol’s corporate social responsibility portfolio, for children living with diabetes, their parents and friends, helping them understand the challenges associated with the condition, creating awareness of the various lifestyle changes, and supporting healthy behavior. The Health Park board game also serves as an innovative awareness tool for the wider community.
Phinda Vilakazi, President of GTL Ventures at Sasol said, “Sasol is proud to be contributing to the global movement on Mandela Day. Nelson Mandela did significant changes in South Africa, from allocating funding to the poor to pursing the policy of reconciliation, his actions showed the world what true compassion is. Today with His Excellency Prof. Shirish Soni, the Ambassador of South Africa to Qatar, we reflect on Mandela’s legacy, through spreading
joy to the children of Dreama. We will continue to reflect on the values of Nelson Mandela, through our various CSR initiatives that aim to empower society.”
Sasol heads several CSR initiatives in Qatar such as: Definitely Able, Accessible Qatar, Qatar e-Nature and the Health Park with Salem and Sarah. Their aim is to benefit and generate a positive impact in the local society. For more information, please visit: www.enature.qa; www.definitelyable.com; www.accessibleqatar.com.
