In May this year, The Quinton van der Burgh Foundation pledged to feed 2 500 families for three months, six months later they are still hard at work and have upped their number to 3 000 with a vision to continue their efforts indefinitely.
Focusing on the plight of workers retrenched from the Optimum coal mine, The Quinton van der Burgh Foundation (QVDBF) in association with Q Global Holdings (QGH) implemented a project to lend a much-needed hand in the Middleburg and surrounding areas.
In May they launched their plan to bridge the gap between communities, the private sector and big corporations, with an initial food drop activation for those hardest hit by the job losses in the area. An endeavour made possible with the assistance of QGH along with Liberty Coal, Optimum Coal BRPs, VDM, Close Up, QGC as well as QGM.
Working with Feed SA, an NGO that sets up feeding schemes and community development projects in vulnerable communities around South Africa, they are compiling food packs that will last families up to 3 months.
The first drop consisted of 2 500 packs whereas the last weeks’ drop saw a total of 3 000 food parcels distributed for the communities of Hendrina, Pullenshope, Komati, Blindpan and Rietkuil.
“QGH has identified communities in and around the Optimum, Koornfontein and Gloria mines that have been hit the hardest by the shortage of job availability resulting from the ongoing Business Rescue proceedings. While we can appreciate that all efforts are being made to restore these assets to fully working mines, this extensive process has left a lot of the community members in dire straits. ,” said South-African-born mining magnate and entrepreneur, Quinton van der Burgh, who heads up QGH.
QGH is an environmentally conscious mid-tier mining house focused on sustainable mining and community upliftment. While they have no direct involvement with Optimum and Koornfontein mines, they are entrenched through various subsidiaries in supporting business rescue as well as care and maintenance efforts of these assets.
During their drop off at The Tsiki Naledi Secondary School in Hendrina last week, van der Burgh thanked his team as well as the councillors, police and the mayor for their continued support in his endeavours to uplift the community.
“This is not a drop and go, this is continued work, and it won’t help if we came in and helped once and were never seen again. We need to be committed if we want to see substantial change and for that reason we will be coming every three months,” he pledged.
Additional drops were made at Middelburg Care Village, Thandanani Old Age Home as well as the Nazareth Children’s Care Center.
“Giving is God’s greatest gift, we all need to do the right thing for those in need and giving a donation is fine, but I believe in getting out there, in being involved personally and making an impact, not just for a day, but for life,” said Van Der Burgh, sharing his admiration for the work done by business rescue practitioners and interested parties to date.
The businessman with a heart for the community is known for his philanthropic endeavours through the QVDB Foundation where he focuses on making a difference across the African continent. He started his philanthropic journey by establishing water wells throughout Southern Africa. Over the years the Foundation has seen Van Der Burgh involved in numerous charitable endeavours such as settling credit card debt and paying for operations and schooling for deserving recipients – projects often funded by Van Der Burgh himself.
For more on these initiatives please visit: www.qvdbfoundation.co.za
