Giving back on Nelson Mandela Day

Giving back on Nelson Mandela Day

On 18 July, members of our Deonne Le Roux Jewellers Kolonnade branch staff went out and did their part for 67 Minutes for NelsonMandelaDay at some of the local retirement homes. These services included nail treatments, watch repairs and battery replacements as well as spending time with the elderly. Our project was a great success and we helped over 200 people! We changed batteries in their watches and living aids to the value of R20,000 as well as cleaned their jewellery and did some valuations thereof.

We are proud of our community and love getting involved!

We did a few interviews with our helpers during the day, including Happy Mashiane, Berdine Swanepoel, Angela Mthembu, Stephens Manne, Yolandi Fullex and Chazel Freeme. Watch the video here and read more below on what they had to say about this generous and inspiring occasion.

Happy Mashiane:

  1. What inspired you to get involved in this initiative?
    We though this year we have to give back to the community, because we work with the customers and then we’ve got the customers that are very old and we never give them anything. So this year we wanted to do the Mandela special for the old ladies.
  1. What was your favourite part of the day?
    Seeing the old ladies smiling for the free batteries and the nail treatment and asking us when are we coming back, so they were chuffed. So the smile on their face just said thank you.
  1. Is there anything more you would like to do for next year?
    Yes we just started this year and then next year we want to go big. So we want to change a little bit. Visit the orphan age and we are planning to partner with the Rocco mammas and the spur group so that we can look after the kids. So if all goes well, next year is going to be big. So it will be focused on the kids this time. Giving back to the community with the kids, so it will change every year.
  1. What is the best part of being in the DLR family?
    This place is home, it’s not work. At DLR we are part of the family. Its easy for you to talk to the boss Déonne le Roux.
    You get along very well with Walter, so anything that you want, anything you think off they are welcome to the ideas and everything. So the communication between the team and the boss is excellent. So you won’t find it anywhere.
    So you are just a family not an employee, we are all part of the family.

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Berdine Swanepoel

  1. What inspired you to get involved in this initiative?
    Ons wou vir die gemmenskap ietsie doen, en ons het gedink die ou mensies kry nie altyd die geleentheid om hier uit te kom nie om hulle horlosies se batterytjies in te sit en hulle juwele skoon te maak nie. So ons het gedink dis n oulike idee.
  1. What was your favourite part of the day?
    Ek sal se dis die glimlagte veral op die tannies se gesigte. Ek het hulle naeltjies gedoen en ja ons kon definitief sien hulle was gelukkig.
  1. Is there anything more you would like to do for next year?
    Ons het gedink volgende jaar om miskien n kinderhuis of ietsie uit te help.
  1. What is the best part of being in the DLR family?
    Ons is n familie, en groot familie. Ons spandeer meer tyd saam met mekaar as by die huis. So ja dis belangrik om familie te wees.

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Angela Mthembu

  1. What inspired you to get involved in this initiative?
    I think the word / way to help other people like Mandela left it behind and celebrating 100 years of Mandela. As a team we decided we need to speak to our bosses and we need to take initiative of this and also be part of the community, because that is the most important thing. We work with community off course and so we want to let community know that we are “available”.  For us it really like made everybody more active and everybody wanting to be part of it and the way everybody planned the day, it was amazing.  So I think that was the best part. It was also her favourite part of the day.
  1. Is there anything more you would like to do for next year?
    I think we need to get more. More deeper. We got scared because of the number of the old people who were there, but luckily it went down. But then I think next year if we can be more involved also with like the kids and street people just to put more hands there. I think that would be more better and more nicer also.
  1. What is the best part of being in the DLR family?
    Wow, I think I’ve said it that it’s a family. This is like a family you know. You have sisters, you have brothers, you have mammas. I call Déonne papa you know. There is s reason behind that. Myself, I grew up in the orphanage so everybody for me was papa. I grew up knowing that you need to respect your eldest. So even if Happy my manager, I call her sissie. So this is like a family thing even when you first come here. They will tell you this is a family business. So you need to adapt and be part of this family.  Because one day you will fall, you will need somebody to talk to and the people that you work with, they are your family.

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Stephens Manne

  1. What inspired you to get involved in this initiative?
    It’s making a difference to the community. Mandela said people who are surrounding you, you always have to make a difference. For you to make a difference in the other people’s lives, it’s like you are contributing to your best abilities.
  1. What was your favourite part of the day?
    It’s seeing all the grannies and the grandpas being happy, because you know sometimes when you give people things for free eventually you going to put smiles on their faces. And then what’s made me happy on that day. Seeing people smiling because of we were giving.  Giving back to the community was the best thing I enjoyed on that day.
  1. Is there anything more you would like to do for next year?
    Definitely man, giving is the best thing you can do.  We are in the jewellery industry, some of the jewellery industry, our competitors in fact (let me just put it that way) they don’t think of such. One thing that I like about our company we thought of giving back to the community. I am a sales executive. I always close the sales, like I take and take and take, so why not give back.  So that’s what we are thinking of doing even next year. Make a Mandela day everyday.
    It doesn’t even have to be July on the 18th why not make it everyday. There are people who are not working, especially the orphanage people which were where we went. Though let’s say a grandpa or a grandma comes and walk in, they do come in and some they do have money, but eventually how would you feel charging a pensioner, let’s say for a battery that’s R120, the cost of living now is too high, like inflation, everything is going up.  But seeing such an old person and then charging him for that. Start by making a change with the pensioners, let’s start by doing the change there.
  1. What is the best part of being in the DLR family?
    I started working for Déonne on the 28th of November 2017. I would say this company, I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned on how we should treat one another. Mandela talked about a rainbow nation and this is what we have in the company. We are rainbow nation. There isn’t such like grouped, we are rainbow nation. So I felt more comfortable, but I will tell you my friend, when I first heard that I will be working here, I was like, oh, will I survive there? But since up until now I am relaxed here. We treat each other like family, we are family. As the company is a family business. So ja I am happy to be here and I enjoy my work and this is the best company that I’ve worked so far. I’ve been in the jewellery industry for 6 years. I’ve started working from 2011 now it’s 2018. Out of all the companies that I’ve worked for, this is the best company that I’ve been in. I enjoy it here, we are the best. And we will give the best to the community.

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Yolandi Fullex

  1. What inspired you to get involved in this initiative?
    Ek dink ons het al n hele ruk gepraat oor om betrokke te raak by die gemeenskap en ons het baie pensionarisse in die winkel. So hulle vra altyd vir n beter prys of pensionaris afslag, so ons het gedink aan mens vergeet baie van die ou mense om bietjie terug te gee aan hulle.
  1. What was your favourite part of the day?
    Die gesprekke wat ons gevoer het, die stories wat ons gehoor het by die pensionarisse, dit was baie interessant, dit was baie lekker. Ag en net om te kon help, dit was baie pret.
  1. Is there anything more you would like to do for next year?
    Ek voel mens moenie by een plek stop nie. So ek voel ons moet deur die loop van die jaar bietjie navorsing doen en kyk waar is regtig hulp nodig. Soda tons die regte groep mense nader en in verband met of waar hulle hulp nodig het.
  1. What is the best part of being in the DLR family?
    Ek dink dis om deel te wees van ons kliente se storie. Jy is deel van daai storie. Soos almal reeds gese het ons is soos n familie en jy is deel van die storie van daai klient en hulle toekoms en hulle verlowing en alles

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Chazel Freeme

  1. What inspired you to get involved in this initiative?
    Wel, Mandela dag is n baie spesiale dag, veral hierdie jaar. Dit is 100 jaar oud. Ek dink elke dag moet eintlik n dag wees wat ons uitreik na die gemeenskap toe, maar veral op hierdie dag ko mons almal bymekaar, ons werk almal na dieselfde doelwit toe. En ek dink dat laat mense spesiaal voel en weet daar is nog mense daar buite wat vir hulle omgee.
  1. What was your favourite part of the day?
    Om eerlik te wees, om deel te wees van alles. Ek het die oulikste tannie gehad, sy het by my kom sit en in hierdie oue te huise kry jy baie mense wat aleen is en net om daar te sit en sy vertel vir jou stories en sy vra jou advies en wat gaan in jou lewe aan. Dit is net daai gesprek tussen mekaar wat haar laat glimlag het voel sy voel vir n slag bietjie spesiaal.
  1. Is there anything more you would like to do for next year?
    Ek dink dit is baie spesiaal of belangrik om aan te gaan met hierdie doel. Daar is baie mense daar buite wat hulp nodig het, wat nie altyd vra daarvoor nie, maar ek dink die volgende aksie wat ons sal graag wil neem is om uit te reik na die kinders toe. Kinders is net so belangrik in ons gemeenskap. Hulle is ons toekoms, so ek dink die volgende doel wat ons sal aanvat is die kinders.
  1. What is the best part of being in the DLR family?
    Soos jy al gehoor het, ons is n groot familie. Dis fantasties om na n plek toe te kom waar jy jouself kan wees. Waar as dinge nie altyd so goed gaan by die huis nie waar jy na n plek toe kan kom en dit kikker jou net weer op.  Jys weer gelukkig, jy gaan huis toe met n goeie gesindheid en die lewe gaan nog positief aan. So dit is plek waar jy regtig kan let go en jy weet daar’s soveel mense agter jou wat jou ondersteun en vir jou luister en hulp aanbied.

Watch the full interviews here:

View more photos on our Facebook page at:

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