Each year on Mandela Day ACCORD practically supports the work of an NGO or community, boosting their efforts to make an impact. For the 2016 Mandela Day, ACCORD supported the work of the Gandhi Development Trust and the Bhambayi Service Centre at Inanda in eThekwini. The Bhambayi Service Centre runs a child support facility, feeding scheme and home based care from the clinic located on the grounds of the Gandhi Settlement.
This settlement, established in 1904 by Mahatma Gandhi himself, originally housed a printing press for a community newspaper, a clinic, a school a museum and homes, including Ghandi’s cottage. During the apartheid era it was an important resistance site, hosting meetings of activists. The site is currently used for lectures on the significance and role of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa’s history, and houses a museum, a clinic run by the Department of Health, a schools education programme and an Early Childhood Development training programme.
For this year’s Mandela Day ACCORD staff, together with staff from ACCORD African Development Consulting and ACCORD Alternative Dispute Resolution undertook two key activities – firstly repainting the interior of the clinic which serves the surrounding community and secondly cleaning, cataloguing and packing nearly 700 rare photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, taken at various stages of his life. These photos will support exhibitions held by the museum at the Settlement and will be loaned to other exhibitions locally and internationally.
ACCORD would like to gratefully acknowledge and thank our sponsors who partnered with us on this 2016 Mandela Day with materials, donations and logistics: Light House Cabs, Plant Décor, Unicopy, In Gear and RSR Brokers. Their kind support expanded what was possible.
ACCORD and its suppliers are honoured to have practically supported the efforts of the Gandhi Development Trust and the Bhambayi Service Centre to offer practical services and educate individuals and communities, including the immediate surrounding community.
For more pictures, see our Facebook photo album.
