Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2013 | Page 31

Diepsloot Development Centre – Afrika Tikkun

the skills they need and then evaluates them before placement,
removing the risk of employing first time job seekers and making
them valuable new employees in a range of industries. By working
with potential employers, Africa Tikkun craft programmes that
place recipients where they are best suited and teach them the
skills they need to integrate into the work force.
The real beauty of this programme is that it is the natural
extension of a process that started years ago, with Africa
Tikkun’s community based programmes being the natural result
of a life time of positive interventions in the lives of these youthful
employees.
Says Marc, “This is charity with a purpose. Not charity out of pity.
We take an individual who is without and create an employment
opportunity. And the Nett beneficiary is the whole country.
What’s more the prospect of placement motivates the recipients
to stay in the system, which existing schooling simply does not.
There’s a huge drop-out rate in conventional schooling. With
this model, the prospect of placement when you stick to the
programme answers the all-important why for many of
our young people.”
According to Marc there are two strong reasons
why this integrated employment programme
works.

Did you see that?

Let me say it again. By using this service, by spending money
on Enterprise Development, companies secure more BEE
points than they do by simply contributing to charity. It’s the
same money, it’s being spent on the same people, it’s being
spent in the same programmes, but it has a greater value to the
company providing the money. In turn, this programme helps
to deliver a real business value to the recipients of the charity,
people who aren’t just being offered a hand out, but a hand up.
Says Marc, “At one end of the process we enter people with
need. Out the other end we exit people with abilities, values and
purpose.”
“This is about changing the mind set of the investor (donator).
They have a real investment in the outcome. They have an
economic interest in the effective delivery of programme.”
“With Traditional sources of funding shrinking, we have find
other ways to fund our programmes by providing value and a
business rationale over and above straight charity. I think
this model does that. I’m counting on it.”
So, what is Marc’s call to action here? Says Marc:
“There is an inherent value in every NGO
activity. There’s an opportunity for us all here to
look at how we package our outcomes within
the framework of ‘Enterprise Development’.
Give the donor, or the investor, an economic
stake in the outcome - beyond the feel good
factor and basic social responsibility - and
create real partnerships in helping to build a
better country for us all.”

“Clients have a real business need here. With
the holes in our education system companies
need to procure people and make sure the
people they employ are job ready. Our need
assessment makes sure we properly tailor our
programme to make sure we place the right
people in the right jobs.”
“Secondly, new BEE codes reward
more BEE points for investments in
enterprise development than they do
for straight charity.”
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2013/07/29 10:45 AM