Learning and Environment used to Help Communities

As many as 3 300 disadvantaged school children in the area surrounding the Dube TradePort precinct have benefitted from the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives of Dube TradePort Corporation, in the past year.

The main focus areas of the multi-faceted programme are education and skills development, environmental sustainability and socio-economic development, which is aligned to the National and Provincial Government’s strategic goals, says Bonginkosi Mthembu, Dube TradePort Corporation’s Executive: Human Resources and Support Services.

On a tertiary level, a bursary programme for engineers, piloted with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is being extended to other tertiary institutions in the Province, such as Mangosuthu University of Technology and the Durban University of Technology. When graduates selected for the organisation’s bursary programme complete their studies, they will complete in-service training with Dube TradePort Corporation. A one-year internship programme which affords unemployed graduates the opportunity to gain work experience within the organisation started last year. To date 16 unemployed graduates have been employed as interns across various business units in the organisation, making them more marketable and increasing their opportunities for employment.

“Another major initiative is the R1,2 million provision of solar power installations in six schools with plans to extend this to two or three more schools before the end of 2014. This initiative seeks to ensure the continuous supply of electricity, a hurdle with which schools always battle,” says Mthembu.

At primary school level, a food-for-recyclables project – paper, plastic and cans – has been successfully implemented at five schools in significantly disadvantaged areas, where food security is a concern. Currently fresh vegetables from the Dube AgriZone greenhouses, as well as from a major fresh produce retailer within the AgriZone, are distributed every Friday by Dube TradePort Corporation employees in exchange for recyclable pollutants.

This project helps the children learn to care about looking after their environment and keeping it clean. The plan is to increase the number of learners that are benefitting from the project. In 2013, food worth more than R350 000 was distributed to four schools.

As part of its CSI success, the CSI team lists a primary school in Tongaat which it assisted with rainwater harvesting, solar power installation and the food-for-recyclables programme. These programmes have raised environmental awareness amongst learners and assisted the school to save on its water and electricity bills.

In 2013, a total of 100 of the most vulnerable learners at five schools received assistance with school uniforms to the value of R450 per learner. Dube TradePort Corporation intends doubling the number of learners in 2014.

Two upcoming programmes include the provision of more rainwater harvesting units, and science laboratory kits for disadvantaged schools. While some schools have laboratories they are barely able to conduct experiments because of a shortage of appropriate laboratory equipment, a situation Dube TradePort Corporation plans to rectify at some 10 local high schools in 2014.