Humanitarian and Emergency Relief
In our humanitarian and emergency relief initiatives, we sought to provide communities with timely and appropriate relief in times of need. As non-life insurance providers, we are often confronted with catastrophic events and emergencies such as veldfires, flooding or damage caused by storms. This means we are provisioned for disaster relief when it is needed.
From a CSI perspective, we contributed around R2.3 million to the Covid-19 food relief drive, by making food vouchers available to beneficiaries across the various regions of South Africa.
During the looting and unrest that unfolded in July 2021, we quickly partnered with First Assist and Stock-a-Shop to support some of the areas in KZN and Gauteng that had no access to food and water. Tow-truck drivers were mobilised to deliver food parcels to people who could not get to shops because of unrest in their areas, or because their shops had been vandalised. Our regional offices in KZN really stepped up to make sure our KZN employees had sufficient resources, such as food and water.
When George was overwhelmed by unexpected flooding, we partnered with Gift of the Givers to provide food relief to the informal settlements affected by these floods.
The Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) plays a key role in fighting fires in Cape Town. Old Mutual Insure supported VWS by providing funding for the maintenance and refueling of vehicles, feeding and training firefighters and buying additional equipment that was needed. In addition to these efforts Old Mutual Insure will be donating 12 Husqvarna fire blowers to our farmers in the Free states towards fighter fighting efforts.
Helping with the treatment of Covid-19
We provided funding to the South African Medical and Education Foundation (SAME) which was used to provide hospitals and clinics around South Africa with an oxygen therapy device (OxERA) - a proudly South African innovation. The device assists with the treatment of patients infected with Covid-19 and doesn't require mechanical or electronic equipment to function and is easy to use. This makes the device suitable for use in any ward (reduces need for ICU beds/equipment) and is suitable for rural treatment centres.
As we all know winter can be one of the most devastating seasons faced by most, especially those in need of shelter. As part of our winter relief programmes, we partner with various NPOs to bring relief to those who need it most.
In Western Cape, we partnered with Call2Care to provide Covid-19 food parcels donated to the families of learners who attend the St Joseph's school for the terminally ill (Montana, Western Cape). We provided parcels that included Covid-19 educational materials and masks, food and vegetables and baby formula. We also donated much needed water-resistant blankets to homeless citizens (made locally to provide employment).
In Gauteng our partnership with Rays of Hope helped provide blankets and flu hampers to the vulnerable in Alexandra township (Gauteng).
At Old Mutual Insure we are proud of the efforts we make towards food relief. We partner with various organisations to expand the food relief footprint in different communities.
Feeding schemes and support
We assisted Purple Hearts Forever with their efforts to support an Early Childhood Development centre in Krugersdorp that runs a feeding scheme at Laerskool Ebenhaeser. This feeding scheme provides meals to 170 children. We also partnered with Hope & Restoration Movement and Hamlet School of Hope who also provide food parcels for to the less fortunate.
In the KwaZulu Natal region we enabled the Paw-Paw Foundation and Queen of Hearts to provide school shoes and toiletries to students who are in desperate need.