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WIIT
GOES BACK TO ITS (GRASS) ROOTS:
A DONE DEAL..!
When Women in IT set their minds on a project,
you can take a safe bet on that project being
completed – efficiently, effectively and
professionally. This was completely apparent in
their approach to a Community Project undertaken
at the King’s Hope foundation in the informal
settlement of Olivenhoutsbos on Tuesday (11th
April).
Click here to
read a letter of appreciation.
The project was facilitated by Responsibil(at)e,
a company that facilitates “teambuilding
with a purpose”. Responsibil(at)e sources
and presents projects that reach deep into needy
communities and stamp an indelible mark on participants,
whilst leaving a positive imprint on the communities
served by the projects.
King’s Hope serves a community of about
16 000 people through development initiatives
and strives to make an impact in the alleviation
of poverty and related social problems. WIIT selected
the option of building the Garden of Peace, a
garden immediately outside the wards of the hospice
and in which the patients can spend some relaxing
time.
Celeste Whitaker, the co-ordinator of WIIT approached
Responsibil(at)e for a project proposal. The Garden
of Peace project was selected and planning for
the delivery of this project commenced. A meeting
of volunteers was called and the scope and nature
of the project detailed. On looking at photographs
of the site, WIIT saw the scope of the challenge
and members immediately sprang into action. Needs
for the garden were determined and assessed and
work was divided amongst the volunteers. In addition,
members obtained donations from their various
companies and clients to ensure that sufficient
funds were available for completion of the project.
Special thanks go to the people and companies
for their donations of:
R1000 from Conscript Africa.
R500 from Britton Solutions.
R1000 from Claire Bent at Microsoft
R200 from Belinda Godfrey at Microsoft
R500 from BMI-T
R500 from Glacier Consulting
R500 from Fizz Marketing
All the plants from Grow Wild
Irrigation system from Responsibil(at)e
The garden was an absolute mess and the beds were
extremely overgrown when the WIIT team moved onto
the site. Work was rapidly divided amongst the
volunteers who immediately went to work on clearing
the flowerbeds. The one flowerbed was easy to
clear, but there were substantial challenges with
the second bed. Roots from two felled trees ran
across the strangest places in the bed and these
roots had to be chopped out. This was heavy going,
but by midday, the beds were ready for planting.
After laying out all the flowers, herbs and plants,
the team got busy digging holes into which these
would be planted, whilst also laying out the pipes
for the irrigation system. It wasn’t too
long after lunch time that the team had completed
the task. Looking at before and after photographs,
one cannot believe that this is the same garden.
The participants all thoroughly enjoyed the day,
although having spent a day on “gardening
leave” actually gardening, one can be sure
that there will be some stiff bodies returning
to work having spent a day in physical exertion.
Their personal stiffness aside, the volunteers
will all know in their hearts that they did a
good thing beautifully, and that their efforts
will go a long way to providing a place of comfort
and peace to patients at the hospice. |
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