National project against poverty launched with R1 Million generated in first 5 months
A ground-breaking initiative by the Nikela Charity Funding & Development Fund with the aim of raising R1 Billion every year for social upliftment, of which FASA was one of the first signatories, was launched in celebration of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 87th birthday in early October.
Rounda, which is a Public-Private Initiative, driven by Civil Society, with the full backing of Government and support from major South African business industries, encourages the public to make every cent count and is a way for all of us to play our part to eradicate poverty in South Africa.
In addition to having a high inequality rate, South Africa has one of the highest official unemployment rates in the world, with 12 million people living in extreme poverty and one in four South Africans going to bed hungry every night. Rounda is the effective collection of small change for poverty eradication, which will mobilise a nation of givers and contribute to a positive impact on the social fabric of our nation.
The soft launch of Rounda commenced in April 2018 and to date has raised over R1 Million collectively with participation from McDonald’s, Nandos, Steers and Mimmos franchises, with Mochachos and Spur the next companies to join forces with Rounda. According to Mr Sipho Shezi, Vice Chairman of the Nikela Trust, ‘it takes leadership from big companies such as Nandos, Steers, Mimmos and McDonald’s and we thank them for taking the lead and being the first to implement Rounda in their stores.”
Daniel Padiachy, CMO of McDonald’s South Africa says: “As McDonald’s South Africa, we resonate with Rounda and are proud and excited with this partnership and the difference it will make to their recipients. Our partnership with Rounda gives us the opportunity to not only help fight poverty but also benefit our own Ronald McDonald’s House Charities, RMHC, which will continue to contribute to the care, compassion, hope and love shown to families of critically ill children treated in hospitals in South Africa.”
Adolf Fourie, Marketing Executive at Steers added: “We are humbled by the opportunity to be a part of this great initiative. We have already seen the impact we make in communities with our partners in SHOUT and we are excited that Rounda offers a permanent mechanism to help fight hunger and poverty.
The roll-out of Rounda will be through a phased approach and South African Citizens can look forward to seeing more Rounda programs being implemented in association with the following industries and associations:
- The Franchise Association of South Africa
- The Banking Association of South Africa
- The Restaurant Association of South Africa
- Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa
- Association for Savings and Investment South Africa
- South African Payroll Association
- Aware.org
- Fuel Retailers Association
- Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV)
About Rounda
The aim of the Nikela Trust through Rounda is to enable all South Africans to voluntarily contribute towards poverty eradication and thereby uplift the national. Round does not discriminate and is truly the first initiative where everyone can be involved, from Big Business all the way through to individual consumers, thereby encouraging an active citizenry.
Rounda allows for all people, civil society and all types of business to become part of this movement and nation building project. The vision for Rounda is to become the new symbol of the Rainbow nation! An action call to rally around the fight against poverty together and the reconstruction of the social fabric of society.
To protect, lobby, promote and develop ethical franchising across all sectors in South Africa with specific focus on transformation.
