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Cape teams join forces for Mandela Day

PUBLISHED: July 18, 2019


On Thursday, to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day, DHL Western Province, Cape Town City Football Club, and the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras Cricket team, in association with DirectAxis Financial Services, collectively gave their 67 minutes to help the Langa Cheshire Home for the Disabled.

This is the second year in a row that three of the Western Cape’s biggest sports brands have joined forces on Mandela Day and the coaches of the respective teams are united in their belief that giving back to the communities which support them through the good and bad times, is paramount to what it means to play for the Western Cape community.

DHL WP Head Coach John Dobson said that it was a great opportunity for his team to connect with some of their lifelong fans. “This Mandela Day initiative gave us the chance to spend time with some lifelong DHL Western Province fans. This showed our players that they are so much more than just a rugby team,” he said.

Benni McCarthy, coach of Cape Town City Football Club, was glad to see his players and support staff continue Madiba’s Legacy. “Nelson Mandela remains a monumental figure all around the world. We’ve all witnessed the amount of work he’s done to shape our beloved South Africa – It’s up to all of us to strive and continue working towards constantly improving our communities, living out the very same values Madiba planted for us. My technical team and players are very excited to be part of this project to help our brothers and sisters in need.”

Ashwell Prince, coach of the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras, said: “Collectively, as a team, we understand the value of community and it gives us great pride to be able to go into our communities and support where we can, not just on Mandela Day, but throughout the year.”

Langa Cheshire Home is a member of Cheshire Home South Africa and Leonard Cheshire Disability Global Alliance. It has a deep understanding of disability developed over 26 years and has a proud record of having made a positive and lasting impact on the lives of many persons with disabilities in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.

Langa Cheshire Home provides residential care and accommodation for profoundly disabled people who are unable to live without the kind of care they offer, either because of financial constraints or because their families are unable to assist them. All the residents use wheelchairs. It accommodates 26 residents and has a waiting list of 39 disabled persons. Whilst residential care for people with medium to high support needs is their core business, the move to independent living has gained momentum. This provides opportunity for their residents to develop skills and live independent self-directed lives.

DirectAxis Financial Services is a proudly South African business and are proud sponsors of the Currie Cup tournament and Cape Town City FC, and proud believers in the power of Sport in building our nation. They are deeply invested in the communities they serve, having spent close to 3000 hours volunteering in 2018 and invested millions into sustainable social projects and CSI and Sponsorship Manager, Shafeeqah Isaacs, expressed her thanks to the representative teams ahead of what will truly be an uplifting day for all parties: “Giving people the power to build better lives is at the core of our business. On Thursday we were able to improve the living conditions of the residents and give their carers a much-needed break. Thank you to the teams who showed zero hesitation in forming this collaboration. We have shown the often-forgotten people in our communities that they are seen and that they matter. It’s our hope that this project will highlight this worthy cause and that more South Africans will show their support for the disabled and the people who care for them.”