The initiative forms part of P&G's Forest For Good initiative, which will see them plant 10 000 trees by June 2023 to actively protect our planet and help strengthen ecosystems across South Africa.
As the world reflected on Madiba's legacy by giving 67 minutes of service through small acts of kindness, in line with this year's Mandela Day theme, 'Do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are', P&G partnered with Pick n Pay to plant 67 trees at 67 selected pre and primary schools in and around Johannesburg and naming them.
The tree planted at Asha Day Care Center on Monday was aptly named "Nompumelelo", meaning 'Mother of success / mother of freedom'. Like the day itself, the name holds a significant relevance for South Africans and most importantly for Madiba, who will forever be remembered as the selfless founding father of our nation, a fearless freedom fighter and courageous unifier.
"Today it's about celebrating Madiba Day and 67 Minutes of activism. As P&G, together with our partner Pick n Pay, we're using this as the opportunity to educate the future generation on the importance of protecting the plants and essentially the environment," said Cassie Jaganyi, Communications Leader for P&G Sub-S ahara Africa as she addressed the kids and attendees on the day.
"As we continue to draw inspiration from Madiba's towering legacy of selflessness and virtue, we will be planting 10 000 tress across South Africa over the next 12 months - by June 2023 - as part of our Forest For Good initiative.
"When we talk about the environment and the impact we need to make to make the necessary changes in regard to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), which has an impact on global warming, it's important that we plant trees. It's a natural solution to this problem."
While the Mandela Day initiative was mainly about igniting the love and passion for the environment when the children are still young, Jaganyi said there are programmes in place to ensure their efforts live beyond Mandela Day:
"As P&G, when we talk about sustainability, we are looking at it from a holistic approach. Yes, we have important initiatives like this where we're going into schools which give us access to the young generation. And what we're also doing is to create important educational materials for them to build on that knowledge and passion. We are also looking at our manufacturing side as well as our stakeholders in terms of government to say, 'what are they doing' and 'what kind of conversations can we have with them to ensure longevity and continuation of these programmes".
Jaganyi said they will be visiting more schools throughout July to plant hundreds of trees as they work tirelessly towards the fulfilment of the Forest For Good mandate to plant 10 000 trees.
Other pre-schools that participated and hosted their own Mandela Day tree planting missions on Monday include Bright Beginnings Day Care in Randburg, Tiny Bubbles in Alberton, Khayalethu Pre-school ( Dlamin, Soweto), as well as Ncedisizwe, Siyaqaqamba and S.T Mary's day care centres in Johannesburg.
