The Sishen Classic Charity Golf Day continues to make a meaningful difference in Northern Cape communities by raising funds that support education, early childhood development and youth-focused initiatives.

Hosted by Kumba Iron Ore at the Kalahari Country Club earlier the year, the annual event brought together partners, suppliers and stakeholders from across the mining industry in support of community upliftment.

With strong support from suppliers and sponsors, this year’s tournament raised more than R2 million for initiatives supporting educational programmes in the Kathu area. Beyond fundraising, the event also creates opportunities for local businesses by attracting visitors to the region.

“At Kumba we believe that sustainable business success must go hand in hand with sustainable community development.” says acting Corporate Affairs manager, Thando Njoko, at the handover event at the end of May.

“This handover reflects the importance of building partnerships that enable shared value creation and meaningful community benefit beyond our day-to-day operations. The proceeds handed over represent a collective contribution towards supporting foundational development opportunities for children.

Thank you to our sponsors and business partners, this initiative would not have been possible without your support, commitment and willingness in creating meaningful community benefit.”

Collective responsibility

Speaking on behalf of the Department of Basic Education at the official handover ceremony, Gosiamemang Masisi, social worker responsible for ECD’s within the John Taolo Gaetswe Municipal District, outlined the impact of the initiative.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure children are taken care of during their academic journey. This has been highlighted by the function shift from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education, with the aim of ensuring that children have access to quality early childhood care and education by 2030.

“Key to this is stakeholder collaboration, which is important towards meeting the educational needs of our children – as the department cannot solely address all the challenges within education itself. Channeling our collective resources toward early childhood development will allow us to combat poverty, unemployment, and inequality.

“We are thankful for this investment made by Kumba Iron Ore and its partners; it will have a long-lasting impact.”

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