The ninth annual Inspiration Awards will take place in June and four top organisations in East London are in line to be voted the most inspirational story.
The top four finalists include Sports for Lives, Future Roses Care Centre, Land of the Living and Izibalo, with each of them receiving a cash prize of R40,000.
The Inspiration Awards acknowledge inspirational achievements by NGOs and individuals that have dedicated their efforts to make their communities a better place.
To be considered, organisations were invited to submit their inspirational stories detailing how they are making a difference in their communities.
The four finalists were then chosen by a panel of independent judges.
Sports for Lives is an organisation that uses the vehicle of sport to activate generosity within a community by facilitating opportunities for individuals and teams to play for a greater purpose.
The organisation’s co-founder and director, Jono Kruger, said this win meant a great deal and hoped the award would make a much-needed difference in the organisation.
“This achievement is received by a team of passionate individuals who are inspired to make a change in their world.
“This achievement serves as recognition to our team for the progress made so far. It brings credibility and prestige to the work we are doing.
“We hope that this award will empower us to make a great difference going forward,” Kruger said.
Izibalo is an organisation based in Vincent that provides learners with extra maths tuition to pupils from grade 7 to grade 10 in rural township areas.
One of the other finalists, Future Roses Care Centre, was established to provide childcare support to families in the Quigney area.
Linda Beja, principal and co-founder of the centre, expressed her gratitude at the recognition of this special achievement.
“Being nominated means the value of the work we’re doing is being recognised. As Future Roses Care Centre team, we are excited, and we feel honoured. Moving forward, this will assist us in planning our expansion and offering our services 24 hours, but we still have to arrange with our landlord.
“Being a member of Border Kei Chamber of Business has also opened doors for us because we got the exposure and training on how to grow our organisation. Now we’re interacting with other organisations around East London,” said Beja.
Land of the Living is an organisation that provides opportunities to impoverished communities through recycling that generates revenue and serves as a platform for training unemployed youth in environmental conservation.
The official awards ceremony will take place on Friday June 9 at 7:30pm at Abbortsford Christian Centre.
Tickets for the ceremony are still available on the Inspiration Awards website.
