The Insurance Institute of Cape Town was established in 1898 and is the oldest Insurance Institute in South Africa. Over the years IIWC has evolved holistically into 3 core pillars of offering:
1. Engage
2. Enable
3. Empower
One of the ways we do this is by giving back to our community and we would like to introduce you to the five charities we support.
Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC)
Situated in the Cape Flats, Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC) was founded in 1999 to combat the high level of gender-based violence and child abuse that characterised the area. The Centre has since evolved to be the prime site nationally for providing holistic, integrated services to survivors of violence. These services include a 24-hour crisis response, a residential shelter and transitional housing for abused women and their children, legal assistance and job-skills training. They have assisted more than 230 000 women and children since its inception. As the IIWC we are proud of having partnered with the SBCWC since 2020. Unfortunately, the scourge of gender-based violence has not abated, meriting our continuous support.
FoodForward SA
Millions of people living in South Africa go hungry each day because they cannot afford to buy food. FoodForward SA was established in 2009 to address widespread hunger in South Africa and connects the world of excess to a world of need by recovering quality edible surplus food from the consumer goods supply chain and distributing it to community organisations that serve the poor. As the IIWC we were stunned at the rise in hunger in our own Western Cape communities during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 2020, we have raised more than 300 000 meals for the poor and vulnerable in the Western Cape through our contributions to FoodForward SA.
Percy Bartley House
The IIWC has been supporting Percy Bartley House for over three years to make a positive impact on the men of the future. Percy Batley House was established in 1951 as a youth hostel and in the present day, it is an independent NPO focused on serving and housing marginalised and afflicted boys from disadvantaged communities, all under 18 and/or in high school. These are boys who, by and large, do not have parents that are emotionally and financially available and/or involved in their everyday lives and boys that grow up in toxic neighborhoods that are rife with violence, gangsterism, and drug abuse.
Mdzananda Animal Clinic
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To cater to our four-legged friends, the IIWC has been a faithful supporter of Mdzananda Animal Clinic, situated in the heat of Khayelitsha, Western Cape. This Clinic primarily provides veterinary services to animals – be they community pets or stray animals in and around the Khayelitsha township area. While the NPO is predominantly a veterinary clinic, it also operates as a shelter that houses a small number of dogs and cats looking for a foster home or, if they are lucky enough, a new permanent home! The Clinic is a permanent, non-profit, veterinary council registered animal hospital serving up to 1000 pets per month. Initially, Mdzananda worked from a single donated shipping container with no running water or electricity. Today, Mdzananda is a fully functioning animal haven running 6 days a week.
The Message Trust, South Africa
Recently, the IIWC has partnered with the NPO, Message Trust (South Africa). The Message Trust was launched in South Africa in 2014. It began with prisons ministry around Cape Town and launched an incarnational mission team in Salt River. Today, it is a dynamic NPO. It provides a safe environment for young people to engage in after school by facilitating programmes geared at life skills, faith-based discipleship, educational support, and fun-based youth activities. As far as rehabilitation is concerned, The Message Trust provides a support system for ex-offenders geared at their successful reintegration into the community through learning, training, and employment. It is home to South Africa’s first coffee shop, Gangstar Cafe, which employs both men and women ex-offenders. Gangstar offers training and employment opportunities to previously incarcerated youth to break the cycle of re-offending, crime, and gangsterism. Gangstar Café is also mobile, so when you see a mobile coffee truck at your next IIWC event, please greet your barista with a smile!