After visiting the project and engaging with the people on the ground to get a better understanding of the centre's vision for the community, Investec decided this project was perfectly aligned to its CSI goals as well as its staff payroll giving programme, Touch by Giving.
Investec has always been passionate about social development and has always looked at supporting social development in South Africa through a youth lens. "We believe that supporting and engaging with young people can benefit society as a whole," says Setlogane Manchidi of Investec CSI. "The Westbury Community Centre catches youth that are falling through the cracks of the education system, giving them a fresh chance in the personal development areas of education, full time employment or community enrichment activities that will help guide them away from destructive behaviours and restore hope to young lives."
Over the past two years, more than 300 staff, working a collective 1,500 hours have been involved in completely transforming the abandoned bottom floor of the old boys section of the Westbury Secondary School hostel into a youth centre which now houses various training rooms, a small library, counselling rooms and various offices for a number of NGOs that service the Westbury community.
"Young people are often asked to aspire to great things while living in oppressive conditions," said John Simon of Kone Centennial Foundation. "We rely hugely on the support of corporates to assist in setting the tone for social development in South Africa. Over the past two years, Investec did just that as volunteers turned around a run-down abandoned space into a cheerful and productive communal environment, demonstrating to the centre's beneficiaries that it is possible to improve not only their own lives, but the community in which they live - the refurbished centre is a beacon of hope to the youth in Westbury and surrounds."
