Old Mutual Insure Commits To Playing Its Role As A Responsible Business To Uplift Communities

In the spirit of Tutu’s words, Old Mutual Insure continued its support of several initiatives in 2021, spending over R8 million on communities in need.

Partnering for impact

The recent floods in in KwaZulu-Natal, left many vulnerable communities in dire need of the bare necessities such as shelter, food, and water, and underscored the importance of being there for our communities and uplifting their socio-economic condition. In response to the floods Old Mutual Insure partnered with several organizations including Gift of the Givers Foundation, Paw Paw Foundation, Siphiwe Tshabalala Foundation, Imbumba Foundation and Mama’s Alliance to meet the needs of affected communities with food parcels, clean water, toiletries, cleaning items, and baby necessities. Our employees also made donations of cash and non-perishable goods towards the affected communities.

“We feel passionately about uplifting socio-economic conditions in South Africa. We are keenly aware of the hunger and poverty, exacerbated by the pandemic, that our communities face and want them to really feel a difference to their everyday lives through our initiatives,” says Antonia Oakes, Executive of Responsible Business at Old Mutual Insure. Focal areas for Old Mutual Insure include the upliftment of youth, education, and entrepreneurial support. “One of our main goals is to equip our children with future-fit skills critical to achieving sustainable development and economic growth in South Africa,” explains Oakes.

A wide range of communities benefited from the R8 million which Old Mutual Insure invested in 2021, including restocking township spaza shops in KwaZulu-Natal affected by the looting in July, delivering food parcels and blankets to communities in need and enabling farmers in the Free State to fight fires using specialised fire blowers. We partnered with Gift of the Givers to provide food and shelter to those impacted by the floods in George in December 2021. We also donated animal feed to farmers in the North West affected by wildfires during the year.

“In addition, we partnered with Reach for a Dream to help children with life threatening illnesses. Our support is enabling a Dream Room to be built for children in Lambano Sanctuary, Edenvale, which will be a safe, uplifting, and inspiring space, promoting healing for terminally ill children,” says Oakes.

Enabling mutually positive futures

In collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Old Mutual Insure sponsored 400 portable school desks (MiDesk Global) in 2021 to children who attend under-resourced schools. The portable desk converts into a desk and chair, can be wheeled to and from school, and has a solar light to provide light after hours.

The Old Mutual Insure Empowering Girls Programme launched on 17 February 2022, is an exciting programme that offers schoolgirls appropriate opportunities to support their professional and personal advancement through relevant life skills, ICT literacy, mentorship and job shadowing programs. The multi-year programme aims to change the future face of the insurance industry by creating a talent pipeline of girls from underprivileged areas, immersing, and giving them exposure to various careers within the non-life insurance industry.  The aim is to bridge the gap of black females in senior and C-suite roles.

In addition, Old Mutual Insure wants to assist schools that don’t have access to water by providing boreholes. “Water is a scarce resource in provinces that have suffered from debilitating drought in the last few years. It is essential in schools both in terms of hygiene and for the sustainability of school gardens that serve many pupils and their families,” concludes Oakes.