ABSA & Barclays supports the Nelson Mandela Sports & Culture Day

Aug 14 • General News, School, School Rugby Fixtures • 4032 Views • Comments Off on ABSA & Barclays supports the Nelson Mandela Sports & Culture Day

South Africa will be showing its Human Spirit when a nation comes together for the Nelson Mandela Sport and Culture Day in aid of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust. The day is an extension of the Human Spirit as soccer and rugby, for the first time, share the same stage on the same day in honour of a great man.

Madiba has always believed that sport has an important part to play in the social cohesion of the nation, therefore as the official team sponsor of both national teams – the Springboks and Bafana Bafana, Absa is proud to be part of this historic day and the bank behind Bafana Bafana and the Boks.

Absa purchased 453 tickets for schools that participated in the Teach Children to Save campaign, which ran throughout July in celebration of Nelson Mandela month. The proceeds from the tickets will go into the Nelson Mandela Children’s Trust. The schools are:

Orlando West High School,
Bona Comprehensive School,
Moletsane High School,
Greenside High School and
Thembalihle High School.

The financial services group Absa encourages South Africans to draw inspiration from Madiba and contribute towards the hospital’s building costs. Absa and Barclays recently announced a partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, where the public could contribute towards the hospital’s building costs at Absa and Barclays branches in South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the United Kingdom.

The Springboks will open their Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina and Bafana Bafana’s friendly match against Burkina Faso is of equal importance as they put the finishing touches to their preparations ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Botswana next month.

Bobbie Malabie, Group Executive: Marketing, Communications, Citizenship and Public Affairs at Barclays Africa Group said: “Saturday 17 August will be a celebration of the human spirit of sacrifice, unity and inspiration. A day where, we pay tribute to a man who is an example of the triumph of the human spirit through his selfless struggle. We are humbled to be a conduit to raise funds for a cause as noble as building the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and this is central to our commitment to making Citizenship real for all of our stakeholders.

“We are excited that our national teams will compete in honour of our national hero Madiba. We want to celebrate the Madiba magic that took us to great heights as a nation in sport especially during his term as president of South Africa.”

Absa waived all administration fees so that the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust is paid the full donated amount. The hospital will be a memorial to Nelson Mandela. It will also be a centre of excellence and a specialist referral hospital catering for children who need long-term care. The Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital will be a 200-bed world-class dedicated hospital that will serve children in Southern Africa. The hospital will be built to ensure that no child is refused healthcare because of inability to pay or due to inadequate capacity.

In keeping with the spirit of the day, there will be an Absa Human Spirit stand, where the public can make donations online. EFT payments can also be made to the following account:

Account name: Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust,

Absa account number : 9285303224.

All stadium tickets are valued between R220 and R550 are valid for the whole day, covering both matches including a game between South Africa’s soccer legends and a team of Italian Masters as well as the evening music concert.

To view Absa’s latest Human Spirit video focusing on the Nelson Mandela Sport & Culture day click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhwaEKJP_aw

As the nation builds up to this unprecedented occasion, the video taps into the national sentiment and the players tell us what Madiba, sport and this occasion mean to them – it is a moving piece, that will entertain and inspire.

Park and ride facilities for Nelson Mandela Sport & Culture Day:

Buses depart from Alberton City Shopping Centre, East Rand Mall Shopping Centre, Menlyn Shopping Centre, Emerald Casino, Silverstar Casino, Worldwear Shopping Centre and Waterfall Mall. The buses are stacked at each departure point and leave as soon as they are full.