27 Oct IDC Partners With Fanang Diatla to Give Helping Hand to Gamathabatha Community
9 October 2020 – GaMathabatha, Limpopo: To support vulnerable households to keep going despite the damaging impacts of Covid-19, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) donated R435 000 and partnered with Fanang Diatla Self Help Project (Fanang Diatla) to support 500 households with food parcels.
The initiative, part of the IDC’s Covid-19 Social Relief programme enabled Fanang Diatla to extend its services beyond outreach programmes that include homebased care support for persons affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, asbestosis and other chronic diseases to food security.
The partnership marks a significant milestone for Fanang Diatla. The non-government organisation (NGO) has come a long way since its early beginnings 10 years ago when it started assisting orphaned and vulnerable children in the GaMathabatha village. Founded by Mma Agnes Qwabe and a team of four other ladies in the community, as a volunteer based organisation, Fanang Diatla has established itself as structured NGO that today partners with large organisations such as the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the IDC in order to extend its the social services work in the GaMathabatha community.
Long after Agnes’ retirement, Fanang Diatla continues to deliver much needed social services in the community. “The founding members of our organisation left us with a solid base to work from and we have even extended our outreach programmes, to include those affected by asbestosis and other chronic disease,” says Knowledge Aphane, CEO of Fanang Diatla Self Help Project.
“Through our partnership with the IDC, we are now able to rollout our Covid Food Relief Project which will reach 500 households from our village as part of our homebased care support programme which works with those who suffer from chronic diseases and taking their medication. Good nutrition goes hand-in-hand with taking medication – without one, the other will not work,’ adds Aphane.
“Following the onset of Covid-19, the IDC was sympathetic to the plight of people living in peripheral and rural communities. Accordingly, we saw it fit to partner with Fanang Diatla when they reached out for help. Educational and social matters, especially those affecting children, women and the youth, are close to our heart. It was only fitting that we play our role to assist this community in partnership with Fanang Diatla. The drive to get involved and not wait for government intervention was also a motivating factor for us. Self-driven and community focused organisations such Fanang Diatla are doing a sterling job in uplifting and building our country,’ says Tebogo Molefe, IDC’s Corporate Social Investment Manager.
The IDC has to date contributed R35 million to Covid-19 social relief efforts since the start of the pandemic.
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