How we marked Mandela Day 2025, 67 minutes of community impact.
Every year on 18 July, South Africans and people around the world, come together to celebrate the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. Affectionately known as Madiba, he holds a special place in the hearts of the South Africa nation for his unwavering commitment to justice, unity and humanity.
Mandela Day calls on each of us to devote 67 minutes to doing good – one minute for each year Madiba dedicated to public service. It’s a simple yet powerful way to honour his vision for a better world, by making a tangible difference in our communities.
This year, the Betway Africa team took up the challenge with heart and purpose, kicking things off by joining forces with SA Harvest to put together care packages. SA Harvest is on a mission to end hunger in South Africa, one essentials-filled package at a time. Their revolutionary approach addresses the systemic causes of hunger and opens the door to companies like Betway Africa to lend a helping hand.
This year, the Betway Africa team and SA Harvest gathered at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg on 18 July to pack care packages for Matric students in low-income areas, to keep them well-fed and motivated as they tackle their final school examinations.
And we didn’t stop there. On Thursday 7 August, the Rise Against Hunger team set up shop at Betway Africa’s Johannesburg office and about 50 Betway Africa colleagues packed over 8,500 bags of nutritious meals in under an hour. These meals are specifically formulated to combat malnutrition and the 8,500 bags packed by the Betway Africa team will feed 35 children, five times a week, for an entire year.
Jessica Mateva, Head of Betway Africa’s internal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, said, “If there’s one thing we can say about Betway Africa citizens, it’s that they love to be involved. It just goes to show the kind of people that you work with every single day, that want to be able to give back to their community and just want to be able to help out.”
Food insecurity is one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa, and the world, which is why seeing colleagues come together to help fill empty bellies is so heartwarming. As the man himself said, at an event at London’s Trafalgar Square in 2005, “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.”