Little Miracles Therapy Centre and Day Care (“LMDC”) for children with special needs is committed to the stimulation and development of children with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities or delays.

As parents of children with special needs, we know that every parent just wants the best for their child and we realised that “normal” main stream nursery schools or day care centres are just not equipped with the necessary skills and equipment to constantly stimulate special needs children and ensure they reach the highest possible level of function attainable by each pupil, hence the need for a school that could ensure each child receives the care and attention they so rightly deserve.

The centre welcomes children from three months to six years with varying intellectual, physical and developmental disabilities or delays not accepted in the public or mainstream schools as well as premature babies or any children in need of additional stimulation or early intervention.

In 2021/2022, a new jungle gym was installed to cater for more children which has brought great joy to the children, and a new Wendy hut as a fourth classroom for the older children (from age seven) who need one-on-one individual attention and tutoring. Other projects include the painting of internal and external building walls, renovating the sick bay room for the children, installing new security gates at all doors with external access and tiling of outside walkways.

LMDC was supported with a financial contribution of R100 000 (2021: R125 000) during the year

Sunshine Educare (a non-profit charity project founded by Nikkie Pretorius) started as an undersized and unsafe “shack” located at Skandaalkamp, a bush settlement off the N7 in Cape Town, with the aim of providing pre-school children with the necessary care and a chance to experience better learning conditions.

Empa Structures (“Empa”) got involved with the non-profit charity project Sunshine Educare in 2017 and since then has provided numerous ongoing improvements at the school. During 2017/2018 the floor of the building and surrounding area was levelled and paved. In 2018/2019, a concrete barrier plinth was constructed along the length of the communal area to prevent rain from entering, which also doubled as additional raised seating for the children. Empa also donated a rainwater tank, repaired the gutters to harvest the rainwater and built a pathway leading up to the classroom to create a safer entrance. In 2019/2020, Empa supplied a storage container (hand painted by the school) and constructed various plinths and slabs in the playground. The latest improvement done by Empa in February 2021 involved the complete rebuild of the roof structure over the communal building. This roof was previously plagued with rainwater leaks and consisted of patchwork of existing roofing materials. All these contributions have led to a neater, cleaner and safer environment for the children.

Empa intends to keep playing a role in these ongoing improvements and looks forward to being part of the way forward for this excellent project.

Raubex contributed R135 109 (2021: R89 260)

Spoudazo Enterprises Trust is a registered public benefit organisation, the purpose of which is to enhance the interests of the poor and vulnerable, to further their interests and well-being by means of providing them with welfare, humanitarian assistance, healthcare, land and housing, education and development services. Raubex has supported Spoudazo’s Township Vegetable Tunnel Project since September 2012. This project involves the setting up of vegetable tunnels for individual households in addition to offering them training and mentoring.

A total of six vegetable tunnels were repurposed for identified beneficiaries during 2021/2022. Raubex funded the establishment and mentoring of these tunnels. To date there are a total of 62 vegetable tunnels in the Free State, with 56 being funded by Raubex for either continuous mentorship or for re-setup purposes.

A key objective of this project is to ensure food security for these households in the Mangaung Metro Municipality and Wepener areas. The Spoudazo programme teaches its beneficiaries vegetable growing skills that enables them not only to benefit from their own produce, but also to earn a living from selling their crops. Spoudazo utilises the services of some of these beneficiaries to assist with the setup and mentorship which provides additional income for these beneficiaries.

In addition to this, the project has provided opportunities for enterprise development to some of the identified tunnel beneficiaries who showed the necessary skill and willingness to be further equipped as entrepreneurs. Two such entrepreneurs now have their own websites for their businesses, which can be viewed at www.tlali.co.za and www.vegetablemarket.co.za.

Spoudazo was supported with a financial contribution of R130 000 (2021: R208 205) during the year

The Group has embarked on an initiative to repair pothole- ridden roads and broken stormwater drain covers in and around the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (“the Metro”). While assisting the Metro in maintaining its existing infrastructure, the initiative is also alleviating the potential undue harm and costs any potholes may cause motorists and residents of the Metro.

All work is being done on a pro bono basis and during the year the team managed to repair 7 547 (2021: 4 470) potholes and 269 (2021: 85) stormwater drains in the area at a cost of R980 000 (2021: R685 359). Repairs are generally completed within a week of being reported to the team. Raubex is aware of its social responsibilities and believes that it is crucial for businesses to play a constructive role in the communities within which they operate. This project is one example of the flagship CSI initiatives currently being undertaken by the Group.

A pothole is a depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area.

A storm water drain is an empty chamber that is installed into a drainage system to prevent silt and debris from building up and causing blockages. Storm water drains are essential in preventing drain pipe blockages.

Raubex contributed R980 000 (2021: R685 359)

Bambanani Projects (“Bambanani”) is a non-profit organisation which brings hope to those in need. The word “bambanani” means “helping hands” in Zulu.

Bambanani’s focus area is the Transkei, in the Eastern Cape. Bambanani’s main area of work is based in Thoboyi Village, just outside of Nqamakwe. Here they serve the people of the surrounding villages and have seen amazing transformation stories. Their vision is to reach 100 000 people with life skills training and mentorship as they develop leaders who can mentor their own. The programmes consist of mentoring and leadership development, life skills training, sport development programmes, programmes for children, aid relief and orphan care. Most families within the villages are broken and run by single mothers or grandmothers that carry the burden of the children and grandchildren. Some must survive on a grant of R1 700 per month and struggle to provide for the needs of the children. Bambanani identifies these families and assists them with “month packs” to ease the pressure. These packs consist of basic groceries which lasts for a month until their situation has improved.

Bambanani was supported with a financial contribution of R407 000 (2020: R383 000) during the year.

Coal combustion for the purpose of the generation of electricity contributes significantly to the emission of flue gas containing toxic gases, such as sulphur dioxide. South Africa is the world’s third largest contributor of sulphur dioxide emissions. To reduce the emissions of flue gas, South African power stations are actively implementing new and improving existing flue gas reduction technologies.

Eskom is currently one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in South-Africa. OMV (Pty) Ltd (“OMV”), one of the group’s subsidiary companies, has collaborated with North-West University (“NWU”) on this project. Part of this contribution to NWU has afforded OMV bursary students and other final year students, the opportunity of being actively involved in this process and gaining meaningful insights and experience on how to reduce the emissions of flue gas.

For the purposes of flue gas desulfurisation (“FGD”), circulating fluidised bed (“CFB”) technology is often used. Hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2) is used as sorbent and reacts with sulphur dioxide (SO2) in a humidified environment to produce calcium sulphite hemihydrate (CaSO3-0.5H2O).

The aim of the project is to provide technical assistance to the Eskom project team to facilitate the implementation of FGD scrubbing technology on their coal fired power plants. Through the research, the students will determine kinetics for the reaction between sulphur dioxide and hydrated lime, which is the reaction utilised for the desulphurisation of flue gas. The reaction kinetics are required to design and simulate the operation of a CFB reactor, which will be utilised in certain South African power stations to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions. Kinetics experiments are conducted with a differential micro-scale fixed bed reactor.

The production of a valuable product, such as gypsum or plaster of Paris, during the reaction is also investigated. In the long run OMV will gain better documented knowledge to produce valuable product and the total community of South Africa will gain a better quality of life with less pollution in high impact areas.

The project was supported with a financial contribution of R354 000 (2020: Rnil) during the year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted severely on the lives of people and businesses in South Africa in various ways, including also government institutions, which were affected mainly due to the increased burden placed on healthcare institutions.

Raubex recognised the needs that came about as a result of the pandemic and looked at ways of assisting the communities in which we operate. The need for surgical masks for healthcare workers was identified as a critical aspect that required assistance from the private sector. Assistance with screening of communities as well as the donation of food parcels was also undertaken in KZN and Johannesburg.

Raubex procured large amounts of masks and also received donations from suppliers and subcontractors for redistribution, following which institutions most in need were identified in our region and donations made to the following healthcare institutions situated in/and around the Mangaung Metro area:

• Pelonomi Regional Government Hospital;
• Freedom Square Primary Healthcare Clinic;
• Kagisanong Clinic; and
• Batho Clinic.

Masks and food parcels in excess of R200 000 were donated in order to aid these institutions in working safer during the critical phases of the pandemic and also to assist communities in KZN on the M7 road project east of the N2 interchange, the communities close to St Helen Joseph Hospital project, South Hills project, Bon Accord asphalt plant and communities in Witbank. We continue to support our communities through donations and social investment interactions and interventions.

By assisting the healthcare workers and communities is the group’s way of showing our appreciation for their contributions towards fighting the pandemic.

Anchor of Hope (“AOH”) is an umbrella registered non-profit organisation, whose ultimate objective is to restore dignity to vulnerable people, irrespective of age, gender, ability, political background or race.

Projects and programmes focus on upliftment, development, restoring dignity and humanity, and providing a sense of worthiness and purpose. This is achieved by providing clothing, non-perishable food and support services through a network of organisations, projects, feeding schemes, counselling, awareness programmes, pregnancy home, men’s shelters and job preparation (and creation) projects.

The street cleaning project is called “STREETS OF HOPE” whereby they use people from the streets who are unemployed to clean streets in and around businesses and serve as parking attendants. In doing this they create work, give people back their dignity and humanity, help with social upliftment and create a clean environment that communities can be proud of.

During 2021/2022, AOH joined hands with Raubex on various projects, including the adopted traffic circle in Baysvillage in Bloemfontein and was able to give back to numerous communities in need.

AOH was supported with a financial contribution of R285 045 (2021: R178 992) during the year

The Monyetla Bursary Project (“Monyetla”) is a registered public benefit organisation with the aim to assist grade 12 learners from previously disadvantaged and poor communities in the Free State, improve their results and afford them opportunities to qualify for bursaries and tertiary education. This has enabled poor families to break the cycle of poverty. The word “monyetla” means “opportunity” in Sesotho. The initiative was established in February 2007 and currently offers additional classes for 11 subjects which are presented by some of the most experienced educators the province has to offer.

Since 2007, this project has assisted scores of students to qualify for bursaries. It is a registered public benefit organisation and is presented at the University of the Free State south campus in the Mangaung Metro. The project offers Mathematics, English (Home & First Additional Language), Accounting, Physical Sciences, Geography, Life Sciences, Economics, Mathematical Literacy, Computer Application Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Business Studies.

During the 2020 school year and during March 2020, when the initial Covid-19 lockdown started, Monyetla identified the need to support matrics with online video lessons and other academic resources while they were at home under lockdown level 5. The Monyetla team continued to upload video lessons presented by master teachers in 12 subjects until the end of the matric final examinations. The lessons were initially uploaded for the benefit of learners in the Free State Province, but soon the whole country gained access to and enjoyed the lessons.

All resources and video lessons were provided to matrics without any subscription fees.

This meant learners viewed video lessons without data costs. By November 2020, the total visitors to the website recorded was 73 000. Monyetla will continue to support the matrics with more video content lessons on the website during the 2021 school year.

The Monyetla Project was invited by the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to be part of the Woza matric programme on SABC 3, e-TV and DSTV. Monyetla was privileged to attend the launch of this television intervention in August 2020. On this occasion, the minister thanked Monyetla Project for supporting South African matriculants in a time of crisis.

Monyetla is grateful for the involvement of Raubex in this project which continues to change the lives of many learners. Monyetla is very pleased with the fact that it consistently produces results above the Free State averages year after year.

Monyetla was supported with a financial contribution of R140 000 (2021: R100 00), this contribution allows learners to be exempted from programme fees, which Monyetla covers with the support of their sponsors.