| Corporate Social Responsibility
Credit Guarantee’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme is managed by a committee made up of an executive director, two EXCO members and staff. Every year this committee faces considerable challenges in identifying worthy beneficiaries of the CSI allocation.
In principle, we try to limit cash donations and to direct the greater portion of the budget towards projects that prove to have an immediate, visible and longer term benefit to the communities they serve.
In terms of the Financial Sector Charter, 0, 5% of the previous years profits is committed to CSI spend during fiscal 2010. However, having recognised that the 0,5% would result in the company having to reduce our assistance to some institutions, a recommendation was made to increase the amount to R 750 000,00.
The scope of the programme covers the following segments:
- Education
- Training
- Development Programmes
- Environment
- Job creation
- Art/Culture
- Health
- Sport
The majority of the CSI Programmes’ budget is allocated to bursaries, which encompasses the education and skills training facets of the programme. They are offered to both internal as well as external candidates.
The external bursaries are offered to students who are studying Credit Management and / or Export Management.
Donations
Smaller donations were made to the following institutions in 2010:
- Salvation Army
- St Luke’s Hospice
- Tshwane Fan Club
- Casual Day 2010
- Kaya Sands Food Relief
Projects
Education
Indoni Secondary School
This school is situated in Zone 10 Meadowlands, Soweto. This school is literally a ‘gem’ in a bleak landscape, run by a fantastic headmaster and supported by a wonderful group of educators and parents body. Although the school only goes up to Grade 9, it nevertheless provides facilities for the other senior schools (up to Matric) around the area to utilise. Besides the obvious education responsibilities, the school undertakes support for and of child headed families, where parents have passed on. It also runs a feeding programme to provide many children with at least one nutritious meal per day. Credit Guarantee provides the school with Pick and Pay vouchers for food purchases.
As mentioned in our 2009 Annual Report, there would be a carry-over of work into the 2010 year. We completed the refurbishment of an old classroom and retro fitted 12 classrooms with heaters.
Thobeka Primary School
This was a new venture for us in 2010. This primary school is located in Zone 6 Meadowlands and pupils are drawn from the surrounding areas, where more that 50% of their learners come from underprivileged homes. Their existing ablution blocks were totally restored, refurbished and upgraded.
FJ Kloppers Primary School
This primary school is based in the farming area of Hekpoort. This school and its enormous infrastructural and educational requirements, was brought to our attention via an article in The Star and Lead SA. Upon investigating the school it was apparent that their requirements were substantial. The pupils of the school are drawn from the surrounding farming communities. Credit Guarantee’s CSI committee decided to assist them in renovating the majority of their existing classrooms and purchasing classroom furniture, which ranges through out the spectrum of the grades. F J Kloppers also tries to ensure that the pupils receive at least one nutritious meal a day, via their feeding scheme.
Health
Footprint Centre
This is a Hospice situated in Orlando East. It is a 24 bed facility divided into 4 wards. Typically 65% of their patients will have HIV/AIDS and the remainder will have other illnesses such as cancer or heart disease. Since opening in 2004 they have provided care to nearly 400 patients and they have been able to rehabilitate and discharge approximately ¼ of those patients. This Hospice was founded by retired nurses in an attempt to decrease the number of persons expiring without any sort of medical care or aid. During 2010 we continued with assisting them with their infrastructural needs for their new premises. This included patient beds, canteen furniture and medical supplies
FWC Hospice
This was another new venture for Credit Guarantee in 2010. This is a 100 bed Hospice situated in Hursthill, one of the oldest suburbs of JHB. It cares for critically ill adults and children dying from a terminal illness. They provide a safe haven, medical care and food to ensure that the patients last days are not ones of pain, suffering, hunger or loneliness. The HIV/AIDS patients that are admitted to this hospice are turned around and sent home well enough to continue to care for themselves and their families. Credit Guarantee provided the hospice with 8 fully equipped patient beds.
Food Parcels/ Contributions to feeding schemes
Many benevolent organisations do not have the money to provide basic meals for the people they take care of. Credit Guarantee has embarked on a programme of delivering ‘food parcels’ or making quartley contributions to their in-house feeding schemes
- Sparrow Ministries Rainbow Village – caring for adults and children with HIV / AIDS
- Footprint Centre
Sport
St Georges Football Club
Credit Guarantee continued its support in 2010 and the following was paid for:
- Affiliation fees
- Referee fees
Infrastructure Development
Abraham Kriel Children’s Home
Abraham Kriel Childcare makes a meaningful difference in the lives of the children in their care as well as affected and involved families and communities by:
- Providing a wide spectrum of appropriate services;
- Protecting the rights of the child;
Credit Guarantee continued our support in 2010 for this worthy cause and completed the refurbishment of the two children’s homes namely: House De Villiers and House Bouwer.
Cosmos City Knit a Square Project
This project which is based in Cosmos City Johannesburg it is a volunteer programme where women of the community, who have the basic knitting or crocheting skills, join together in keeping the children of Cosmos City warm. This project not only creates an opportunity for women to learn a new skill which, enables them to be a productive members of the community, but they also help join the knitted squares into blankets. The children that they assist have been orphaned or abandoned as a result of HIV and poverty. Credit Guarantee purchased the required materials to assist them in their project and also donated two complete knitting machines.
Takalani Home for Disabled Children
This is Soweto's first home for the mentally disabled. Built by Anglo American in 1989, the centre was a blessing for a community in desperate need, where five in every thousand people had a mental disability. Takalani is now home to many people, many of whom have been abandoned by their families. This home and their desperate situation, was brought to the attention of one of our CSI Committee members via an interview with the Avril Elizabeth Home on a local radio station. Credit Guarantee gave immediate assistance by purchasing towels and face cloths for the residents.
Due to our desire to ensure that the projects have a worthwhile and material benefit to the people they serve, a considerable amount of time is devoted to onsite visits and the procurement of materials etc.
The real reward however, is to be seen in the faces of the children; in the heartfelt thanks expressed in letters and emails and of course in the knowledge that we as a company have helped numerous sick and elderly people.
“Doing is so much better than talking.” |
