Eight philanthropists receive Inyathelo Awards

The event, which took place at the Cape Town City Hall on 5 November, was initiated by Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement to acknowledge, celebrate and honour those whose personal giving has contributed towards sustainable social change in our country.

Recipients of the awards are:

• Eight year old rhino campaigner, Afeefah Patel.
  
• Chairperson of the Zip Zap Circus School in Cape Town, Victoria Nel.
  
• Founder of the Sedikong sa Lerato feeding centre for vulnerable children in Polokwane, Mavis Mathabatha .
  
• Founders of the Lungisani Indlela Village for vulnerable children in Verulam KwaZulu-Natal, Tich and Joan Smith.
  
• Founder of the Care-Net Development and Support Centre for vulnerable children in the Winterveld outside Pretoria, Mmatsatsi Mokgohloa.
  
• Founder of the Hope Warriors Children's Charity in Soshanguve north of Pretoria, Patrick Mashanda.
  
• Businessman and founder of the Riverlea Development Trust in Eldorado Park near Johannesburg, Jeffrey van Rooyen.
  
• James McGregor, for his tireless work over many years to uplift the Westlake community in Cape Town.

Inyathelo executive director Shelagh Gastrow says Cape Town's City Hall was a fitting location to thank these philanthropists for their passion, commitment, generosity and foresight. "The City Hall will be forever famous as the spot from which Nelson Mandela gave his first address on the day he was released from prison in 1990. As he stood on the balcony, Mandela pledged to place the remaining years of his life in our collective hands. It was a declaration of trust and a call to serve which is why we believe this is the right place to honour those South Africans who have answered his call."

Difficult decision

Inyathelo programme director Gabrielle Ritchie says they had well over a hundred nominations for this year's awards and the independent review panel had a tough time making their final decision. "The Inyathelo awardees resist any kind of categorisation. They come from the most diverse walks of life, range in age from eight to 85, and have varied reasons for why they serve the causes that they do.

"Some simply say that they saw something that wasn't right, rolled up their sleeves and set about finding a solution, often in the face of overwhelmingly difficult circumstances. Feeding schemes, health clinics, education programmes, art projects, childcare facilities, community support groups and so many more innovative and remarkable projects have been founded and supported by the Inyathelo Awardees," says Ritchie.