RAF to plant trees at provincial hospitals
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has partnered with Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) to plant trees at all provincial hospitals in South Africa which house RAF's 98 Hospital Service Centres.
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The campaign kicks off on Tuesday, 1 September, at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg when the RAF will assist the facility in further developing a food garden.
The venture will involve the planting of 825 indigenous and fruit trees in order to make a long lasting, tangible difference to the communities which the RAF services. Each tree planting is being done in remembrance of all those who have died on the roads.
"The RAF's corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as an integration of social, environmental and economic contributions towards our society. As a proud and responsible corporate citizen, the RAF's investments are meaningful, aim to create sustainability in the lives of people, and are focused in a few but high-impact projects, bringing about significant social security to the needy," RAF CEO, Dr Eugene Watson, said.
Five pillars
RAF investments are channelled into five pillars - poverty alleviation, education, health (post-crash care), road usage and environmental awareness. These sustainable projects are aligned to the broader national government agenda and are aimed at empowering communities for years to come.
"Our CSR strategy is aligned to the RAF's core business objectives and South African government's socio-economic and development priorities. The planting of fruit trees and the development of the food garden talks directly to all of values as the RAF, especially the value of Ubuntu," said Dr Watson.
FTFA's Trees for All programme aims to green and transform communities by planting trees, and educating community members on their maintenance. This in turn enhances the quality of life of community members, reduces soil erosion, offsets carbon emissions and ultimately transforms schools and other community centres into healthier more sustainable environments.
"It is wonderful to be able to partner with the RAF and I am looking forward to planting all 825 trees for Arbor Month 2015," Trees for All programme manager, Chantel Louw, said.
