Community benefits from UK tour

AFTER a positive tourism experience in Cape Town organised by Wedgewood South Africa last year, employees from the UK-based Vauxhall Motors (Opel) have donated a container full of clothes, books and toys to the community in the informal settlement of Langa. The container arrived just before Christmas and followed the company's donation of R24 000 to the Langa Development Forum as a gesture of goodwill before the commencement of their six-day tour in April last year. The money is being used for the establishment of a Langa Museum and for health-care projects in the area. Inbound tour operator Wedgewood SA, organised the corporate tour for approximately 200 Vauxhall employees, which included a trip to Robben Island and a visit to Langa. According to Debbie Ayub, Wedgewood operations manager: "The visit was such an uplifting experience for the group, that they decided to contribute by giving directly to the community projects they visited." She says the clothes, books and toys are in storage at the Tsogo Environmental Centre until they can be distributed in approximately two weeks time. Orphanages and old age homes are the primary targets for distribution of these items, relates Ayub. (Adele MacKenzie)