Sibaya Community Trusts celebrates R250-million milestone spend on philanthropy

Dignitaries, recipients, guests, and members of the media joined in the glittering celebrations as the Sibaya Community Trust commemorated the milestone of spending R250 million on philanthropic responsibility.

The Sibaya Casino was the venue for last Friday’s glamorous event, where Chairman of the Sibaya Community Trust, Vivian Reddy and his wife, Sorisha Naidoo, united with trustees to celebrate the noteworthy achievement and highlight how their passion for making a tangible difference made the organisation one of the largest investors in social upliftment within KwaZulu-Natal.

Addressing guests, Reddy said that Sibaya Community Trust was an organisation bringing formidable change and championing lasting impact through funding of programmes implemented by NPOs and NGOs.

“We understand that by working together we can make a significant difference in the lives of masses. We have provided access to clean water, education, and healthcare to those in need. We have helped to build homes of safety, upgraded existing infrastructure and built new ones, we provided food security for families and saved the lives of a large number of children through cardiac surgeries,” Reddy said. “Our efforts have not only helped to improve the lives of the people we have served, but have also helped to create a more sustainable future for our communities.”
In celebrating the Trust’s achievement, Reddy shared some stories of how fulfilling the work has been.  “Our MADI program saw us spend over R12 million to help students in 11 schools achieve in math and science, including upgrades to school infrastructure, teacher skills development, leadership and management skills for principals. This intervention raised the pass rate from below 30% to 85%.”

The Trust is building a community centre in Bayview, Chatsworth and a boys’ home for Khulani Shelter. “It is projects like these that will leave a lingering legacy that defines the stories of Sibaya Community Trust,” he said.

The evening also celebrated the impact that ordinary under-represented organisations have had on communities. “These NPOs and NGOs are the backbone of our nation, working tirelessly to improve the lives of those around them, through our support, we have been able to empower them to make a difference in ways they may have never thought possible.”
Reddy thanked the many people involved in these successes – the Trustees, Sibaya Casino management, contractors and project management teams and service providers.

The Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, was the keynote speaker at the event, and said that according to a Statistics South Africa report of November 2019, South Africa was the world’s most unequal country.

“One of the ways of changing our society into a better version of itself is by starting to improve the future today. Improving the prospects of the current generations of children and young people demands that we introduce them to their future today. Investments such as those committed by the Sibaya Community Trust are practical translations of how young South Africans can be introduced to their future today,” Zulu said.

“The child-and-youth focused development programmes that the Sibaya Community Trust has invested in will not only help to reinforce the realisation of the deliverables that are relevant to the Social Development portfolio, but will further serve as a key pivot with which a range of other community-targeted services can be strengthened.”

Zulu invited the private sector, civic formations, academic institutions and multilateral partners to join efforts to reinforce investments that the Sibaya Community Trust had directed to communities in the different parts of the province.

Reddy added that the Trust’s work was not yet done. “We will continue to do what is right, to empower and uplift those in need, to work towards a more just and equitable society and be a voice for those who are often left unheard.”