Winner — Corporate Award Clover Mama Afrika
Clover Mama Afrika identifies matriarchal leaders (“Mamas”) in impoverished communities and provides them with the skills to help themselves and those around them.
Under the banner Ukwakha Isizwe (Building and nurturing our nation), the project has positively affected the lives of thousands of individuals around the country since 2003. Each Mama has skills that enable her to generate a regular income.
Skills such as sewing, baking, gardening and beading are the basis for self-help projects. The Mamas are provided with skills training and development, as well as start-up equipment and continuous support.
“The Mamas are then able to transfer their skills to other community members,” says Professor Elain Vlok, the manager of corporate services and the Clover Mama Afrika Trust. The trust, funded by Clover SA to the tune of R1.5-million from March 2009 to February 2010, does not provide handouts and no money is given to the Clover Mamas.
“We believe in investing in social development projects with the rewarding return on investment of community members becoming selfsustainable,” Vlok says. Clover branch managers help to facilitate skills training and company personnel volunteer their time to help out at Clover Mama centres.
Most of the Mamas are women who look after abused, abandoned, orphaned and vulnerable children, as well as the elderly and homeless. There are currently 33 Mamas around South Africa, collectively caring for more than 11 500 children and 3 500 elderly people.
“They reflect humility, caring and strength and are respected by their peers,” Vlok says. “In their townships they unassumingly take charge of protecting, nurturing and educating their young and taking care of the abandoned senior citizens.”
To date, training has been received by 1 338 Mamas and fellow caregivers. In turn they have transferred new skills to more than 1 550 community members.
In addition to the empowering projects, the Mamas are assisted in repairing their premises and building project centres, where needed. “Though property and building are not our main focus, we want to ensure that their physical environment is improved, that it has basic facilities and that it is a safe haven for the members in their care,” Vlok says.
The project team works with various outside companies to assist the Mamas with skills and materials. Bernina Sewing Centre has provided sewing courses, for instance, and the Food Gardens Foundation has offered tuition on organic growing.
“Each Mama has been able to facilitate job creation and income generation on a wider scale,” Vlok says. “They collectively employ 465 community members who are earning a regular wage, whereas before they would work as volunteers and receive only a plate of food.”
Developing close working relations with each of the Mamas, regular monitoring of their self-help projects and consistent needs analysis helps ensure the project’s sustainability and success, says Vlok.
This hands-on, long-term approach has resulted in the project winning a number of awards over the years, most recently the 2009 Top Brand Survey for being one of the best social upliftment initiatives in the country and the Professional Management Review overall Diamond Arrow Award 2010 for Corporate Care.
“While Africa is still a land of hunger and need, Clover Mama Afrika is a story of hard truths and soft touches,” Vlok says. “It’s a project that’s out of Africa and fully in place; and money that’s not simply disappearing into a bottomless pit, but helping people rise above their circumstances.
“To date every aspect of the Clover Mama Afrika initiative has surpassed expectations. “Each success is a testament to the hard work, dedication and enormous commitment of all involved, as well as the strong support from our top management.”
The Investing in the Future judges were impressed by the personal touch involved in Clover Mama Afrika. They also praised the project’s outreach structure, its skills development and focus on financial sustainability for communities.