It was all smiles at Lulama Primary school, Soweto, as Newsclip joined pro bono client Miss Earth to get down and dirty to pledge their services to the community. The turnout was incredible, and people were ready to get involved for Mandela day 2016.
By Michelle Strydom
Once all the sponsors and Miss Earth South Africa finalists and former contestants arrived, Miss Earth executive director Ella Bella proceeded to welcome everyone to the glorious event, and mention the importance of working together, and giving back to the community.
“If we don’t continue giving back, who is going to be the hero for our environment and the role-model for these kids? It has to start with us,” says Bella.
Miss Earth South Africa was joined by various sponsors, including Joburg Pikitup, Nedbank, Newsclip Media Monitoring, Cathay Pacific, new partners SANBI and Sound Stylists, and independent volunteers who were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. Joining the Miss Earth South Africa finalists were two Miss Earth Zambia finalists, who were part of the South African programme this year.
The day was about female empowerment and young women helping the community, but Bella made it clear that the focus should not be placed on only one party.
“Never forget the boy child because of the focus on the girl child. One day we need to match them. They need to be the same and have respect for one another, so we can have better societies, and develop communities, countries and our continent. Even though our programme is about women empowerment, never can we exclude the boy child,” says Bella.
Once the welcoming speeches were done, the Miss Earth finalists split up into groups, and went into different directions to get to work. Some ladies were assigned to planting veggies in the vegetable tunnel sponsored by Nedbank, planting trees along the perimeter of the school, and some proceeded to get artsy and crafty with Lulama primary’s scholars, or help sponsors and volunteers repaint the goal posts.
Despite the cold weather, each of the sponsors and Miss Earth finalists volunteered where necessary, and progress was underway to bettering the community, the school, and the lives of all the children who attend it.
For more information, visit
www.missearthsa.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on
Facebook or on
Twitter.