Giving Compass' Take:

• In this story from Global Citizen, author Lerato Mogoatlhe discusses the efforts of South African company Tsogo Sun to end extreme poverty using ubuntu.

• How might ubuntu be applied globally? What can other businesses learn from Tsogo Sun's example?

• To learn about how one woman is changing the lives of South African children through coding, click here.


Whether it’s ending hunger, creating economic opportunities, or helping vulnerable children and families access quality healthcare and education, [Nelson] Mandela’s legacy teaches us that it’s possible to change society if we are guided by the spirit of ubuntu, which calls on everyone to help end poverty.

Ubuntu is a southern African philosophy which speaks to the fact that we are all connected and that one can only grow and progress through the growth and progression of others.

Tsogo Sun believes that giving back goes beyond funding various education and entrepreneurial programmes.

The company also has an employee volunteering programme that allows thousands of staff to donate their time and skills to local communities.

“It’s our way of reducing inequality by using the collective voices of staff to engage with communities and meet whatever needs are identified,” says Shanda Paine, Tsogo Sun Group’s corporate social investment manager.

By embracing annual charity days like the CANSA Shavathon, Reach for a Dream’s Slipper Day, and Casual Day, South Africa’s leading fundraising campaign for people with disabilities − Tsogo Sun’s teams are helping to support some of the most vulnerable communities in the country.

In most cases, children are among the primary beneficiaries, with maintenance, vegetable gardening, and improvements done in creches, schools, day care centres, and children’s homes around the country.

“Depending on their needs, various children’s organisations are given blankets, toys, baby clothing, toiletries, playground equipment, books for libraries, stationery and linen,” adds Paine.

Tsogo Sun teams also join other corporates to distribute food parcels at the annual Rise Against Hunger event in a bid to eradicate child hunger in unregistered Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres.

Read the full article about ubuntu by Lerato Mogoatlhe at Global Citizen