Computer Associates has thrown its weight behind efforts by the Eastern Cape community to eradicate hunger among young school-going children in the region.
It has, together with the Calabash Trust, launched the Children`s Nutritional and Activity Project, an initiative designed to provide daily meals to all students under the age of 10 in the province.
According to CA`s HR manager Diane Walters, the project is a bold leadership initiative by members of the local community - the Ramaphosa Informal Settlement - and its partners in the private sector, together with charitable organisations.
At the opening of the centre, she said there is now no need for young children from the area to go hungry, as they will be provided with healthy, protein-rich meals on a daily basis at school.
Commenting on CA`s involvement in the initiative, she said the organisation`s commitment to SA extends to the maintenance of a broad-based social responsibility programme, supporting - and often driving - initiatives for change and the upliftment of previously disadvantaged people in the sub-continent.
"We are well known for our fight against the exploitation of missing and abused children. We were instrumental in launching the South African Centre for Missing and Exploited Children [SACMEC]. We support the local efforts of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children [ICMEC], and the South African Police Services` Bureau for Missing Persons established in 2000," she said.
"Nevertheless, we see the Children`s Nutritional and Activity Project as one of our priorities. As such we have included staff members from all our branches in SA and our UK office in the initiative. They have joined hands with the management team and contributed to the funding of this project."
Walters revealed that the ultimate goal of the Children`s Nutritional and Activity Project is to make it self-sustaining by cultivating food resources and training of local women to be caretakers and managers of the centre.
"This will go a long way to ensure that the upliftment provided to this community will be continued and expanded upon," she added.
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Computer Associates International, Inc (NYSE:CA), one of the world`s largest software companies, delivers software and services that enable organisations to manage their IT environments. Focus areas include network and systems management, storage and security management, portal and business intelligence, and application lifecycle management. Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, NY, and operates in more than 100 countries. For more information on CA, please visit http://ca.com.
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