In celebrating October as the month of service, multinational software company SAP teamed up with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to give new life to the Ratang Bana children’s home in Alexandra.
Ratang Bana (meaning “love the children” in Sotho) is a non-profit organisation that supports more than 45 young and vulnerable orphans and children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. Ratang Bana opened its doors to our team and SAP to give it a fresh lick of paint.
Working together with organisations like SAP brings our partners closer to the work conducted at the NMF. On this occasion the home’s library was successfully revamped and the containers in the yard received a new coat of paint. The children and staff were happy to join in the activities to improve the look of the yard and the garden, which was replanted.
With education dominating social debate in South Africa, it was equally fitting to see books being donated by both SAP and NMF to the home’s library, while Sunil Geness from SAP took the time to review the home’s IT infrastructure.
Ratang Bana is no stranger to publicity, as well as support from the corporate sector – two years ago, a group of ambassadors from European countries visited the home, while the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs dispatched its ambassador to visit in 2014.
The positivity and good value derived by the community from the children’s home is what was considered by SAP. The day was a success and all who were present contributed to making every day a Mandela Day.
