The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (the Fund) and its flagship project, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH) will be wrapping up Mandela Month Celebrations and resume the dropping-off of physical donations by the public at the institutions on Saturday, 31 July 2021. 
 
In July, the legacy organisations traditionally mark the birth, life and social contribution of their founder, Mr Nelson Mandela. The month has also become synonymous with altruism, with the public often supporting these institutions with various requests including on-site donations to support their work.
 
Historically, former president, Mr Nelson Mandela, also celebrated his birthday in the presence of children sharing in the celebrations together with staff of the Fund, members of the public, corporates and the philanthropic community. Since his passing in 2013, the Fund has upheld this tradition, honouring Madiba by hosting the Annual Children’s Celebration at its Head Offices in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and other venues across the country. 
 
However, the Level 4 restrictions together with the recent unrest in the in the country, placed limitations on both the Fund and NMCH’s ability to host events in a similar manner, resulting in an joint announcement on 16 July 2021 to postpone all physical donations. 
 
To end off Mandela Month in a fitting manner, the Fund and NMCH are excited to announce that these activities will now resume under Level 3 Covid-19 protocols. As such, the Fund and Hospital will be hosting donation “drive-throughs” where the public can drop off donations to benefit beneficiaries.
 
CEO of the Fund, Konehali Gugushe says that the Fund is reaching out to the public to request that they donate essential items that will benefit children across the country. “This year our plan is to put together care packages that will be distributed to our various strategic partners nationally. This includes partners working with the Fund in the health, child survival & development, as well as the child safety and protection space. We are therefore providing another opportunity for our supporters to come forward to make this year memorable for our beneficiaries.” 
 
The organisation has also placed various donation boxes at Menlyn Park where visitors at the mall can drop off their donations.
 
Furthermore, the Fund is also calling on the public to join its virtual #MandelaDanceChallenge by dancing to media personality, Proverb’s “Legacy” song and posting this online. “This a way for us to still promote child participation and to encourage families, to have fun together in a light-hearted way and in the spirt of celebration,” says Gugushe. 
 
Interim CEO at NMCH, Dr Nonkululeko Boikhutso, also encouraged the public to support the only dedicated children’s hospital in Gauteng.  “Our patients and families have a wide variety of needs. We are relieved that we can end off the month in this way to encourage the public to support our institution in the spirit of Madiba and giving.” 
 
From April 2021, NMCH had to accommodate approximately 100 patients together with their families and staff from Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) following a fire at that facility. While some patients have been moved back to CMJAH, others remain at NMCH. “The intervention was absolutey necessary but as you can imagine, this has added strain on our resources,” says Boikhutso.
 
To drop off donations on Saturday, 31 July 2021, the members of the public are encouraged to contact communications@nmcf.co.za to book a slot and ensure that we have appropriate crowd control provisions. 
 
The public can also make online donations to both organisations through their website portals and support the virtual initatives outlined on these. 
 
For more information on visit on the Fund visit www.nelsonmandelachildrensfund.co.za or visit www.nmch.org.za to learn more about NMCH.

The Nelson Mandea Children’s Fund (the Fund) and its flagship project, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH) will be postponing any physical donation drop-offs and activities at the institutions this International Mandela Day on Sunday, 18 July 2021. 
 
Given the current restrictions presented by the Covid-19 pandemic including a rise in infections, particularly in Gauteng, as well as the limitations placed by the recent unrest in our country, the Fund and NMCH have taken the decision to place safety first. 
 
Historically, former president Mr Nelson Mandela celebrated his birthday in the presence of children sharing in the celebrations together with staff of the Fund, members of the public, corporates and the philanthropic community. Since his passing in 2013, the Fund has upheld this tradition, honouring Madiba by hosting the Annual Children’s Celebration at its Head Offices in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and other venues across the country. 
 
CEO of the Fund, Konehali Gugushe says that the Fund has had to adapt the celebrations in the past two years,. “Covid-19 has really forced us to look at other ways of honouring our founder and ensuring that our beneficiaries are not left feeling neglected during this time of celebration, which they have come to expect and really look forward to enjoying with us. As such, we’ve had to be innovative and move those activities we can online to avoid gatherings and curb potential infections.” 
 
This year the Fund in partnership with Takalani Sesame is calling on the public to join its virtual #MandelaDanceChallenge by dancing to media personality, Proverb’s “Legacy” song and posting this online. “This a way for us to still promote child participation and to encourage families, to have fun together in a light-hearted way and in the spirt of celebration.” 
 
The Fund and Takalani Sesame will launch the official video for the challenge on Mandela Day on its digital platforms. 
 
The organisation is also putting together care packages, filled with essential items such as sanitary towels, hygiene products and toys, which will be distributed to its beneficiaries. 
 
The Fund had intended to collect donations in person from the public on Mandela Day, but has postponed this activity to the end of the month. “As we mentioned, safety comes first. We are also aware of the current needs of our beneficficiaries and note how the recent unrest in South Africa have strained supply chains. This has caused a delay in some of our donations reaching us in time. As such, we extending the collections to beyond Mandela Day and will collect all physical donations at our premises towards the end of the month as we continue to watch how this current situation unfold.” 
 
International Mandela Day has also become synonymous with committing 67 minutes towards philanthropic work. The public often respond to this call with various requests including on-site actitvies at NMCH, Madiba’s legacy project and the only dedicated paediatric hospital in Gauteng. 
 
Interim CEO at the hospital, Dr Nonkululeko Boikhutso, echoed the sentiments of the Fund in prioritising safety, thereby halting any physical activities. “The public have really shown us their much valued support in the past by dropping off items at the hospital and supporting our patients and families during this period. As a hospital however, we must promote the message of discouraging social gatherings and adhering to the government imposed Level 4 restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.” 
 
The public can still make online donations to both organisations through their website portals and support the virtual initatives outlined on these. Outside of the dance challenge, the Fund will also be hosting a virtual auction of a bespoke pair of sneakers that have been redesigned from an original pair of Hi-tec sneakers that Madiba wore during his fight for liberation in our country. The auction will go live on Mandela Day (18 July 2021) on https://freedom.hi-tec.co.za/auction/freedom-shared/  at 10:00 [CAT] with the proceeds donated towards supporting the work of the Fund.
 
For more information on visit on the Fund visit www.nelsonmandelachildrensfund.co.za or visit www.nmch.org.za to learn more about NMCH

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​A major part of our Children's Celebration is children's participation. 
Due to the current climate, we have had to come up with innovative ways to do this in a fun and inclusive manner.

As such, we have created a #DigitalDanceChallenge to one of our long-time supporters, Media Personality, ProVerb's song 'Legacy'. Our YLP team choreographed the dance.

We urge you to participate in the challenge by dancing, uploading your video on your social media channel of your choice and tagging @NMCF. 

Let us create some joy during #MandelaMonth