22/07/2025
Tourism as a force for good: creating a lasting Mandela Day legacy
By Tendani Nelwamondo, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tourvest Integrated Tourism Group
Every July 18th, the world is called to honour the towering legacy of Nelson Mandela a leader whose unwavering commitment to justice, dignity, and selfless service still influences the way we live, lead, and support one another. However, Mandela Day is not just about 67 minutes of goodwill, or simply a once-off initiative, or a fleeting moment captured in photos. Instead, it stands as an ongoing call to take meaningful action and drive lasting positive change. At Tourvest, we believe tourism has the power to answer this call in a significant and enduring way.
Tourism, as an industry, holds the potential to go beyond simply generating income and promoting destinations. It can serve as a powerful catalyst for community empowerment, cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and social development, thereby creating long-term positive impact for both local communities and travelers. It’s about contributing to inclusive growth and sustainable change.
This Mandela Day (and month), our efforts across our operations, both in South Africa, and more broadly in other parts of the continent, are designed to achieve results through a range of initiatives. The goal is simple, go beyond short-term charity by investing in projects that improve the lives and livelihoods of the communities we operate in, leaving them stronger than before. Initiatives or programmes that we will be rolling out during ‘Mandela Month’ and beyond include:
Education for generations
Situated near the historic Crown Mines area, southwest of central Johannesburg, Crown Reef Mines Primary School serves children from surrounding communities that continue to face significant socio-economic challenges. Once a hub of gold mining, the area now stands as a reminder of South Africa’s complex past and the urgent need to invest in its future.
We are proud to be transforming the school’s library into a safe, inspiring space where young minds can thrive. The refurbished facility will feature age-appropriate books and structured reading programmes, designed to foster literacy and ignite a lifelong love of learning.
In a community that has long been underserved, this initiative represents our commitment to meaningful, sustainable change. As Nelson Mandela wisely said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nurturing future leaders through education
Plans to refurbish a library at Khulanolwazi Primary School in Bram Fischerville are underway. This further affirms our commitment to advancing education and literacy. The school currently operates out of prefabricated containers, which serve as both classrooms and administrative offices. Despite infrastructure challenges, the school places a strong emphasis on mathematics, science, and technology. With the support of other external partners, the school’s learners will be gaining access to weekly robotics lessons. Recognising the absence of a dedicated library, we are also committed to transforming an existing prefabricated unit into a fully functional library space that will give learners the opportunity to conduct digital research and expand their knowledge beyond the classroom. Children are the key to our future. Our investment in their education, at an early stage, is not only a reflection of our values, but a strategic step towards cultivating a brighter, more empowered South Africa.
Empowering communities through clean cooking energy
Working with both local and international partners, our operation in Victoria Falls is installing biogas digesters in rural households, a clean energy solution that combats deforestation, reduces emissions, and improves indoor air quality. It also relieves women and children from spending hours collecting firewood, giving them back valuable time for education and other productive activities. The digesters produce nutrient-rich slurry that enhances soil fertility and supports local agriculture. At the same time, the project builds community capacity through skills development in managing and maintaining the technology. To date, we have installed 54 units and plan to add 10 more in the coming financial year, generating a ripple effect of environmental preservation, healthier homes, socio-economic upliftment, and sustainable energy access.
Clean water and awareness
In Orlando, Soweto, our employees are rolling up their sleeves to clean the rivers and streams flowing into the Orlando Dam. The programme is not aimed at just cleaning the area, but is also designed to raise awareness around this important environmental challenge, and to restore the specific area as a safe recreational destination. Waste doesn’t begin in the river - it starts with behaviour. Therefore, Tourvest is dedicated to contributing to behavioural change by investing in school children, the leaders of tomorrow. We educate locals about the dangers of illegal dumping and the harmful effects of chemical waste on the ecosystem. The link between pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are undeniable. Healthier rivers and dams strengthen ecosystems and enhance the resilience of the communities that rely on them.
Building for hope
In Pilanesberg, Tourvest employees are building a habitable shelter that seeks to restore hope and dignity for the P**e family. The support is intended to benefit a child-headed household, with the only remaining adult being a 94-year-old grandfather. Importantly, the vision is not only intended to provide shelter but seeks to develop skills for members of the household, thereby opening pathways that will prepare the dependents for employment opportunities. Shelter is merely the beginning of dignity. Skills are the gateway to independence.
Still in this part of the country, Tourvest’s Ivory Tree and Sheperd Tree Lodges will be distributing blankets to senior citizens and assisting other stakeholders in patching potholes on one of the major roads leading to key social facilities such as schools, hospitals, and the economic tourism hub of Pilanesberg Nature Reserve.
Growing livelihoods
Shifting to Cape Town, the focus is on sowing the seeds of sustainability practically. Tourvest, in partnership with Living Hope NPO, is building an agricultural tunnel to plant seedlings for vegetables and herbs. Our employees are assisting to grow the first batch of seedlings, which will be given to small-scale farmers to plant and grow them. Some of the fully grown vegetables and herbs will be procured through our restaurants, hotels, and other local buyers. This farm-to-table initiative promotes enterprise and supplier development, job creation and food security, an entire value chain rooted in regenerative agriculture.
Healthcare access in East Africa
Providing an Epoc Blood Analysis System for Meserani Snake Park Clinic is another initiative aimed at making an important impact. Meserani Snake Park Clinic is the only clinic in Tanzania that specialises in life-saving snakebite treatment. The clinic offers free treatment to the surrounding communities comprising roughly 1.3 million people, and provides advanced care. With snakebites and other rural medical challenges being common in the region, access to fast, accurate blood diagnostics can make a significant impact towards the quality of health services to the community. This technology is a game-changer; previously, the closest facility offering such diagnostics was hours away. Now, for many, essential testing is within walking distance.
“One Tourvest” making a difference
Our Vision27 strategy, anchored by our “One Tourvest” approach, unites our efforts to drive meaningful sustainability. It is guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 including Quality Education, Climate Action, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Life Below Water. We ensure our actions are purposefully aligned to achieve lasting positive impact.
Leaving more than we take
Mandela Day is more than just a task to complete; it’s a perspective that shapes how we understand our responsibility to both people and the planet. It inspires us to turn good intentions into meaningful results and to transform 67 minutes of action into a lifetime of purpose. As Madiba’s words continue to remind us: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
At Tourvest, we are proud to be part of that difference. In doing so, we are committed to our ethos of ensuring that wherever we are, we are always local.
Photos:
Mankwe GAMETRACKERS’ Tourvest employees build a shelter for the P**e family in Pilanesberg.
