Standard Bank Eswatini Partners with RESC to help communities
Standard Bank Eswatini, through various CSI initiatives is finding new ways to make dreams possible for EmaSwati. The Bank, in collaboration with RES Corporation, has supported local entrepreneurs with sewing machinery, children living with disabilities through the School for Deaf and local primary and high schools with much needed COVID-19 PPE. The Bank and RES Corporation continue to explore synergies that ensure that assistance goes directly to the people who need it the most. The sponsorship forms part of the two organisations’ core pillars, namely; education and the entrepreneurship.
The handover sponsorship event successfully took place at the RESC head offices in Simunye on 29th March 2021. “This is not the first collaboration between Standard Bank Eswatini and RES Corporation. We believe we can do more to uplift the communities in which we operate when we work together,” Standard Bank Marketing Manager Sibusile Sgwane mentioned in her remarks. “Previously, when Standard Bank Eswatini launched the HER campaign, a campaign that looks at the empowerment of young girls in schools through the provision of sanitary towels, RES Corporation partnered with Standard Bank Eswatini and counter offered funding towards the purchase of feminine hygiene packs,” she went on to say.
Consequently, RES Corporation and Standard Bank Eswatini have again collectively identified impactful initiatives for the betterment of Emaswati in the sugar belt. One of the key focus areas for Government is ensuring that all students are kept safe from the COVID-19 virus which is why public schools in the country have largely remained closed since March 2020. “No child should be kept out of school because they are unable to afford a face mask,” stated the RES Corporation Managing Director, Mr Nick Jackson. This necessitated that additional to hand sanitizers the partnering companies saw it fit to also provide 9000 face masks to help the schools prepare for the reopening of schools.
The beneficiaries lauded the contribution of this thriving partnership. In her remarks, the Principal of the School for the Deaf explained that their vocational classes would be immensely empowered by the equipment provided. She highlighted how some students living with disability were unable to cope within the academic stream and learning vocational skills was imperative for the students to learn life-sustaining trades.
Standard Bank Eswatini Chief Executive, Mr Mvuselelo Fakudze, added, “We are very proud today to come together to make a contribution of this nature that really seeks to positively impact the education of children who are the future leaders of our country. Additionally, given the pandemic and economical challenges we want to contribute to the members of our society who need it the most”.
The Bank and RES Corporation’s donation will benefit 4500 children and teachers in local schools with PPE, COVID face masks, that have been manufactured by three women-led SMEs. As part of the empowerment of women entrepreneurs, the partners bought state of the art sewing machinery that will help the entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Standard Bank Eswatini and RES Corporation will continue to collaborate through these meaningful initiatives and improve local communities for Emaswati.