Behind the many faces of Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot: Steyn City celebrates initiative’s 10th anniversary in a befittingly cheerful spirit

From a giant birthday cake measuring 1,8m x 1,2m, to the introduction of the much-loved Idols presenter ProVerb as the MC, not to mention a sponsored helicopter for Santa giving learners at Muzomuhle Primary in Diepsloot a taste of the airport runway, to thousands of festive goodies donated to learners to share with their families, the Steyn City Foundation pulled all the stops to ensure that 2021 is more memorable for everyone participating – as the project celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“From the very beginning, Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot occupied a special place in our hearts,” said Steyn City Properties CEO Giuseppe Plumari. “Many of our employees live in Diepsloot, so the gifts we give their children through Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot is our way of saying thank you for their hard work.”

Plumari said he’s proud of the way the initiative has evolved to answer the most pressing needs of families in the area, while also making sure that the special spirit of Christmas is part of their lives at this time.

This year’s project was no different: bearing in mind that 2020 and 2021 have been especially challenging for most from a financial point of view. However, the Steyn City Foundation did things a little different from the past Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot projects by approaching principals from participating schools, so as to understand exactly what their learners needs are. In line with their recommendations, learners in Grades 1 to 3 each received a goodie bag containing flip files, colouring books and crayons, while those Grades 3 to 7 received maths instruments, calculators, along with other treats. 

Thanks to a generous R4 million donation by Auto & General Insurance, learners also received food packages to be shared with their families over Christmas.

“We have a number of impactful programmes in place to enhance the livelihoods of individuals in our neighbouring community of Diepsloot, and have supported Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot for the past decade. Covid-19 as well as the July unrest has caused drastic increases in household and child hunger, as well as food insecurity. We continue to play our part to assist those in need,” said Ricardo Coetzee, head of Auto & General Insurance. 

Of course the celebrations wouldn’t be complete without the mammoth 1,8m x 1,2m cake being shared with the learners. Meanwhile, everyone’s favourite Idols presenter Proverb added a dash of celebrity flair to the proceedings, while Ultimate Heli sponsored the helicopter for Santa and his guests to land at Muzomuhle school.

Unpacking the many faces of Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot

Essentially, the 2021 festivities proved once again that Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot is about more than just delivering festive cheers.

As Plumari pointed out, not only the learners and their families stood to benefit from this year’s edition. The project has an important job creation element, too.

Likewise, the bags for learners in the foundation phase (Grades 1-3) were manufactured by a small entity called Just Bags. “Their participation in the project gives us a chance to support local small business and stimulate the local economy,” Plumari added.

Not only that, bags for Grades 3 to 7 were made by the women of Uzwelo, creating vital employment for this community in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Deeply appreciative of the opportunity to take part in Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot year in year out, Muzomuhle Primary school principal John Ramarumo had this to say: “It is a great pleasure to work with the Foundation and witness first-hand its endless determination to ‘deliver happiness’ to the children of Diepsloot. We love, admire and appreciate the generosity of the Foundation.”