“There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return.” – Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
On 18 July, in a small attempt to do our bit on Mandela Day, the extended DTB family gave a couple of hours of our time to the people who need help most. It was the least we could do to combat the glaring inequalities in South Africa – inequalities which have been made even worse by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current cost of living crisis.
Given Adam’s long association with Gauteng and South African cricket, it was only fitting that we should honour Nelson Mandela’s legacy at the Wanderers cricket stadium. To this end Adam, Erna, Iain, Leigh-Ann, Ylene and their families signed up for the “Fill up the Stands with Food and Hygiene Hampers” initiative organised by Ashraful Aid and Lions Cricket.
Ashraful Aid is an international humanitarian organisation that assists communities affected by poverty, disaster, famine and war in 15 countries. Over the years they’ve provided over 200,000 meals and have dug 132 water wells across Southern Africa.
Ashraful Aid had already managed to secure generous donations of toiletries, basic foodstuffs and other pantry essentials from their corporate partners. But they needed our help packing the items into boxes so they could be distributed to some of the neediest families in the City of Joburg.
Every box had to contain exactly the same items: toothpaste, soap, maize meal, rice, sugar, beans, samp etc. Once completed, each box was placed on a seat in the stands. The sheer volume of donations coupled with the enthusiasm of the volunteers meant that we ended up staying a lot longer than 67 minutes. At the end of the day, over 5,000 “seats” had been filled – hopefully next year we’ll be able to truly “Fill up the Stands.”
“Giving back is an integral part of my philosophy on life and investments,” explains DTB Director Adam Bacher. “And in a country like South Africa there are just so many people who need help. The fact that I could make my small effort at a place that holds so many wonderful cricketing memories made it extra special for me and my family.”