Goodyear South Africa’s 67 Minutes of Play for Mandela Day

Uitenhage – Goodyear South Africa has once again heeded to the call to impact lives in communities on Mandela Day by inviting 84 Grade Six learners from Stephen Nkomo Primary school to come and celebrate this significant day with them on 18 July 2018. With bright skies and favourable winter weather in Uitenhage, Spiderman, butterflies, Batman and even Superman made their way onto the fields as the talented Goodyear employees started painting the faces as per the learner’s requests during the 67 minutes. The afternoon proceeded with laughs and smiles filling the Goodyear sports field as the learners moved around to participate in the various activities and games.

The various activity stations set up for the Goodyear South Africa Mandela Month celebration were manned by Goodyear employees and activities included skipping rope, mini soccer, touch rugby, netball, face painting and hula hoops.

“Goodyear has been partnering with us for two years and we would like to thank them for supporting education and their community. Over the last two years, we have seen groups of employees putting in the work to help our learners and our school; from classroom renovations to physically fixing old desks and even educating our learners about caring for the environment. We are truly grateful,” remarked school principal, Mrs. Zoliswa Njiyela.

After much excitement and running around, the celebration was concluded with learners receiving a treat and a gift from Goodyear to remember this Mandela Month.

“A big thank you for inviting us here to celebrate this special day and sharing your time, energy and resources with our learners. It is so special to them and these are some of the memories they will carry with them for a long time,” beamed Mrs. Zoliswa Njiyela.

“Goodyear prides itself on being a good corporate citizen which is why it is important to us that we serve and empower our community. It is also important to keep our employees energised and connected to the community, creating lasting memories for our employees and the children. Through engagement and collaboration, we have been able to achieve top employer statuses and proceed as a successful organisation that cares,” said Lyndon Ownhouse, Goodyear South Africa Projects Director.