The National Lottery Operator, ITHUBA, handed over 100 000 re-usable face masks to the Department of Health as part of the PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) donation to essential workers on Thursday 7 May 2020.
The handover ceremony took place at the ITHUBA office in Sandton. In attendance were the Honorable Ministers of Health and the South African Police Services, Dr Zweli Mkhize and Bheki Cele, Deputy Minister of Health Dr Joseph Phaahla and representatives of other corporates who were also handing over PPE donations to the Department of Health.
Minister Mkhize praised the donors for their contribution and encouraged continuous support from corporate South Africa, “We want to encourage others to come on board to give us support on a continuous basis”, said the Minister. He added that cloth masks will simplify the everyday lives of health workers during this time. “When we deal with masks (medical masks) in the context of a hospital, we dispose them as medical waste material in a specific, suitable method. We encourage people to use cloth masks because they don’t have to be disposed of immediately. We would like for our members to use cloth masks when they get into taxis and when they are on route between home and work. The medical masks can be used when they are at work.” added Minister Mkhize.
Commenting on this, Group CEO of ITHUBA, Charmaine Mabuza, said ITHUBA is in full support of the government’s initiatives to battle the COVID-19 virus. “We recognise the efforts of the South African government to curb the spread of the virus and as a responsible corporate citizen, we are pleased to extend our support to the government. While these masks are essential, they are a token of our appreciation to essential workers that are in the frontline of the COVID-19 battle”, she said.
Charmaine Mabuza is the winner of the Forbes Africa Social Impact Award 2020. She was recognised for, amongst other contributions, her role in the Eric and Charmaine Mabuza Foundation which has funded the tertiary education of young people from previously marginalized communities throughout South Africa. The Foundation has recently launched a food distribution initiative in Mpumalanga and Cape Town as means of aiding communities in distress during the COVID-19 lockdown, supporting over 5000 families.
ITHUBA’s other initiatives include programmes such as:
- The annual graduate programme which started in 2018. This year, the programme has employed 13 interns in the fields of Marketing, Finance, Public Relations, Facilities Management, ICT and Human Resources.
- The Youth Enterprise Development Programme (YEDP) which empowers budding entrepreneurs to build sustainable, profitable businesses.
- A women empowerment programme that identified 100 female retailers to develop, train and upskill in order to improve their business skills.
- A media initiative to raise awareness and instill a sense of responsibility around preventing violence against women.
Mabuza says as per ITHUBA’s ethos to offer long-lasting assistance, the masks donated have a life-span of a year. “We trust that these masks, which a have a life-span of a year, will make a significant difference in the Department’s endeavors to battle COVID-19”, said Mabuza.
