18 July has been declared Nelson Mandela International Day, but as South Africans we embrace the chance to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life for the whole of July, which is meant to honour the great legacy of Mandela and his values through community services and volunteering.
Longyuan Mulilo, an Independent Power Producer (IPP), owns and operates two wind power projects in De Aar, Northern Cape. The company honours the memory of Madiba through investments into the education of youth through their Bursary program, and through the support to early childhood development centers in local communities. They assist with helping community old age homes to protect the dignity of elders, supporting small business around their projects to help grow employment opportunities, and expanding access to primary healthcare with mobile health clinics.
Just as local municipality said: “We are so blessed to have Longyuan Mulilo Wind Projects as a social partner over the previous years. We thank Longyuan Mulilo for all their effort and continuous support, the community and the municipality are very grateful for all the help.”
To date, Longyuan Mulilo has contributed around R150,000 to these beneficiaries, through providing equipment, upgrading of facilities, purchasing soccer kits, etc, in celebration of Mandela Month.
There is still much work to do – both to address the aftermath of this month’s events, and also to address the underlying socio-economic issues that persists across our country. Longyuan Mulilo, is committed to continue to undertake to the best of their ability to make a positive difference in the communities in which they operate.
Further still, they encourage South Africans across the country to adopt the principle that they have at Longyuan Mulilo, where they endeavour to conduct themselves as though every month is Madiba month, with every day existing as an opportunity to live out his legacy in a way that would make him proud.