Tati Nickel Mine continued their trailblazing corporate social responsibility program last week when they unveiled their project on results improvement initiative in Maths and Science at Shashe River School.
The project is a people centered development initiative that is a result of a partnership between Tati Nickel and the department of secondary education. It commenced with a needs assessment initiative at different schools, with focus on maths and science and culminated with the mining giant forking out P950 000 to benefit Shashe River School and six other junior secondary schools.
To enhance performance in the project, Tati Nickel has also introduced a revolving trophy for most improved results in math and science as a way of gauging if their investment is bearing fruit. “We want the students to uphold the principles of competition at a younger age because we live in a competitive world, and we are hopeful that this will have far reaching results,” said Tati Nickel General Manager, Peet Kotze, at the event.
The schools have also been provided with computers and internet connectivity. “We live in a global community characterized by free flow of information, and internet provides swift access to that information” said Kotze.
Phase two of the project will involve the establishment of remedial centers for maths and science subjects. Recently, government officials from the department of secondary education and Tati Nickel employees went on a familiarization tour to South Africa to learn about remedial centers for maths and science subjects. Kotze said that the benchmarking tour provided an in depth knowledge of how to make the project a success. Tati Nickel will provide the computers and software to be used by the students while government will provide classrooms for the remedial lessons. To make the project even more successful, teachers will also be trained on new skills.
When officially launching the project, Education and Skills Development Minister, Jacob Nkate, commended Tati Nickel for their sterling efforts in promoting a healthy and well educated community with enhanced employment and business opportunities. He said that the project will contribute to results improvement in maths and science and also improve the performance of the various schools as they will be challenged to compete amongst themselves.
Launched in 2006, Tati Nickel‘s CSR programs have over the years benefited members of the communities that are within 50 km radius of the mine. “We have always believed that we are an integral part of the community that we live in. This belief has played a significant role in shaping our vision towards the communities that we co-exist with…and also defined our corporate social responsibility program,” said Kotze. Tati Nickel’s CSR program is focused on social development and business development. The company also emphasizes on returns on the investments that they have made for the beneficiaries and, therefore, go a long way in assisting to ensure that their investments are always successful. While Tati Nickel’s CSR program has given birth to a number of projects in the past, there are still quite a number of projects lined up. Some of Tati Nickel’s social responsibility projects include a hair salon, a mobile clinic, a tannery, day care centers, poultry farms and a canteen that is situated at the mine.
