Clover Mama Afrika has been awarded the Overall Diamond Arrow Award 2009 from PMR (Professional Management Review) for the best Corporate Social Investment project. Clover Mama Afrika, which is Clover's flagship corporate social investment project, was given the overall first place in the Food Manufacturers/Processors category, having won the Golden Arrow Award earlier this year.
”Winning such an award from PMR means that you have set a benchmark in the industry and for us it is one of the highest recognition to receive. We cannot be prouder for such a status.” Says Prof Elain Vlok, Clover Manager Corporate Services and driver of the Clover Mama Afrika project.
The Clover Mama Afrika project started as a humble project five years ago and has since developed into Clover's flagship CSI project. The project currently has 31 Mamas who run successful care centres throughout South Africa. These remarkable women collectively care for over 10 500 children and 2 500 elderly people, many of which are abused, orphaned, homeless and victims of HIV/Aids.
Clover's part in all of this is to empower these Mamas with vital skills such as: cooking, baking, sewing, crocheting, business management, food gardening and bread baking skills. Over and above the training sessions these women are all supplied with the necessary tools, equipment and infrastructure to create an income for their communities.
The awards are the culmination of a research process whereby companies and institutions are rated based on respondents perceptions with a strong focus given to evaluating and measuring customer service and customer satisfaction. The awards are also indicators of a company or institution's competencies.