Community wellbeing is a team effort, and in order to ensure communities continue to thrive, progress and develop, check-ins are needed to assess growth. With this in mind, the Clover Mama Afrika team is making their way around South Africa to touch base with their Mamas. The team traveled through Gauteng recently to visit their Jozi Mamas and show them continued support, while checking in to see how their centres are doing and how they have improved over the past year.
Cloverâs corporate sustainability initiative, Clover Mama Afrika, aims to empower women in communities across the nation with various vital skills such as cooking, baking, sewing, quilting, business management, and food gardening. Over and above the training sessions, these âMamasâ are all supplied with the necessary tools, equipment, and infrastructure to create an income for themselves in order for them to give back to their communities.
To ensure that the Mamasâ centres are sustainable and that they are working to keep their centres of the highest standards and to reach their set out objectives, the Clover Mama Afrika team does regular evaluations through surprise on-site visits and request receipt of regular reports.
âIt is always a pleasure to visit our Clover Mama Afrikas. The national road show kicked off with visiting Mamas within the Gauteng province. Our first stop was with Mama Gail Koeberg in New Thorndale, Magaliesburg at her centre, Quegal Restoration & Refuge Centre. Her centre provides a safe-haven for destitute/abused women, children and men with the goal of rehabilitation and restoration. It was amazing to see the progress of her building and how it all looked neat and structured. Her bakery is equally clean, neat and structured. We found the bakers baking quality brown and white bread to meet her orders. She also has regular orders for scones and vetkoek,â explained Prof Elain Vlok, Corporate Services Manager at Clover.
Mama Gail currently has 22 people at the centre that is going through the necessary rehabilitation programmes. She is passionate about her centre and making a difference in the lives of those around her.
The next stop was at Mama Felicity Maluleke in the heart of Soweto, to see her centre, Vutomi Inyiko Stimulation Centre where she cares for the differently-abled children in her community. âWhat a wonderful visit this was. Mama Felicity is like a sponge that has absorbed all the skills that she receives and implements them. Her bakery was immaculate as were her cupboards. Her sewing, quilting and mosaic work is done with precision. I am very proud of how Mama Felicity has evolved over the years,â says Prof Elain. Mama Felicity works on a small scale with all her Clover Mama Afrika projects, but she is determined to succeed. She also manages an after-care centre that caters for 20 children every day.
Mama Shirley Merime of Ennerdale was the final stop in Gauteng to visit her centre, Ebenezer Hannah Home, where she hasorphans and senior citizens in her care. The Clover Mama Afrika team was welcomed by Margaret Meintjies who has been one of Mama Shirleyâs bakers for the past 15 years. The centre remains a hub of activities from  a nursery school, food garden, a recycling project and much more.
