The city’s Top 40 Under 40 business people from the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBCC) proved their dedication to education by donating 900 shoes toward the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s uniform collection drive on Tuesday, 17 April.
The uniform collection drive is spearheaded by the Executive Mayor, Cllr Zanoxolo Wayile, and is led by the Municipality’s Education Task Team. The campaign has been greatly supported by various stakeholders in the city and is aimed at collecting shoes and uniforms for those learners in need.
Aside from participating in the uniform drive at leading shopping malls in the city in February, the members of the NMBBC’s top 40 under 40 business achievers set out to achieve a new goal of collecting shoes at their respective companies. In observance of the international campaign, One Day Without Shoes, on 10 April the NMBBC’s top 40 under 40 achievers went to work barefoot to beg for shoes to donate to the NMBM’s uniform collection campaign.
Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Cllr Zanoxolo Wayile, said it was heart-warming to witness the human solidarity that the uniform collection drive has created amongst the people of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“The Municipality is willing to work alongside local businesses on the vision for the city’s future. These young businesspeople are all ambassadors of human solidarity,” said Mayor Wayile.
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Chief Executive, Kevin Hustler, said he appreciated the partnership that the chamber enjoyed with the Municipality.
“We are very proud of what our top 40 under 40 achievers have achieved, and we are pleased to be making a donation to such a worthy cause. We are in full support of the Education Task Team, and we are behind the positive initiatives to make a difference to the future of the city’s learners,” said Hustler.
The concept of the barefoot campaign – with Mayor Wayile, accompanied by Councillors, municipal officials, businesspeople and other stakeholders visiting three shopping malls with no shoes to beg for donations – was the brainchild of one of the 40 under 40 achievers, Lynn Erasmus.
Erasmus approached the Office of the Executive Mayor with the idea, and she can’t believe the results her idea has yielded and how well she was accommodated by the Municipality to date.
“It is amazing to see my small idea explode into something that people from all over the city can embrace. It is such a great feeling to be a part of an initiative that is contributing toward changing lives,” said Erasmus.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- The Countdown On – Mind Matters Is Taking Over Cape Town Before Taking the Conversation Global - 28 September 2026
- BurnesSEO Study Finds South African Small Businesses Invisible in AI Search Results - 28 September 2026
- BurnesSEO Study Finds South African Small Businesses Invisible in AI Search Results - 28 September 2026
- What Causes Petechiae? When Tiny Red Spots Could Be a Sign of Something Serious - 28 September 2026
- Why Digital Equity Is South Africa’s New Frontier for Women’s Empowerment – By Matebe Chisiza-Asukile and Natasha Mboyisa - 25 September 2026
Thank you Alan for sharing the good news always.