As part of global diversified natural resource company Glencore’s commitment to progressing together with its host communities, Glencore Ferroalloys has partnered with social purpose enterprise Re-Action to offer support in the roll-out of relief efforts to members of the #Khomani San community in the Kgalagadi in the Mier municipal area, one of the most desolate areas in the ZF Mgcawu district, in the Northern Cape.
Glencore’s community support initiatives aim to ensure that communities like the #Khomani San are not forgotten during this time, as their primary source of income is driven by the tourism industry, and owing to the restrictions of the lockdown this has been severely impacted, the company notes.
“The #Khomani San are First people in Southern Africa and there are only 28 crafter families left in the Kgalagadi. Their ability to make unique crafts and paintings has been passed on to them through generations.
Through this partnership with Re-Action, Glencore Ferroalloys has been able to donate much-needed food supplies to help support families and ensure this community is not neglected during this devastating pandemic, says Re-Action executive director Sharon White.
“As humanity is the only currency that matters during a crisis like this, we identified the need to extend a helping hand to one of the most marginalized communities in South Africa, and ensure that they have sufficient food supplies during this global crisis.
"It is a matter of extreme importance to us that we do our part in helping alleviate the effects of this pandemic especially to those in the most vulnerable conditions with limited accessibility,” says Glencore Ferroalloys corporate social responsibility GM Conroy van der Westhuizen.
The #Khomani San and their families rely solely on South African Social Security Agency grants and selling arts and crafts to tourists as a means of income; and they are therefore dependent on the tourism trade passing through the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, notes the company.
The absence of tourists has made this period even harder to endure, leaving them reliant on support from local partnerships and nongovernmental organisation funding, it says.