Discovery Health honours local community leader

Formed in the late 1980s to accommodate the expanding population, Motherwell is the largest township in the Port Elizabeth region. After arriving in Motherwell two years ago, from a small Limpopo village of Tshakhuma, Ndivhudzannyi “Chief” Maanda, a 23 year-old Discovery Health employee, soon realised that many children were left to their own devices in the evenings. Some parents do not take care for their children and often leave them without foods for days at a time.

When asked what he wanted for his birthday, one of the children replied that he only wanted a hamburger ‒ something a lot of people simply take for granted. Chief decided to do something about the situation.

It all started with a soccer ball

Remembering how much sport helped him during his childhood, Chief started raising money to buy a soccer ball for the children in his community. He did this by carrying a huge box full of snacks to work every day and selling the snacks at work.

Before he knew it, Chief had taken a large group of children under his wing. Wherever he could, he gave children spending money and instructed them to buy fruit at school, so that they would not have to attend their classes on an empty stomach.

He also makes sure that the children focus on their schoolwork, while using sport as a positive outlet. Under Chief’s careful tutelage, children who used to receive 30s and 40s for test scores are now receiving 70s and 60s.

Treating the children to some fun

Apart from helping the children with their schoolwork, Chief also tries to treat them as often as possible. This includes buying them extra sports equipment, giving them some spending money and, of course, hosting birthday parties to which all the children are invited.

He has even hosted a fun day within Motherwell, during which the children were treated to hotdogs and a slippery slide!

Discovery Health is proud to honour Chief with the Discovery Health CEO Award

Discovery Health strives to be a powerful force of social good, by seeking out improved health outcomes for both their clients and employees. Discovery Health also recognises the importance of fostering healthy, productive communities. Community infrastructure that facilitates wellness plays a big part in supporting health outcomes, and Discovery supports the community through initiatives such as the Discovery Fund (which supports grass roots community programmes), the Discovery Foundation (which awards funding for the training of medical professionals), the Discovery employee volunteer programme (through which Discovery employees can volunteer their time to uplift their communities), and the Discovery Health CEO Award.

The Discovery Health CEO Award recognises the selfless and caring ways of Discovery people. It also gives Discovery Health executives an opportunity to reach out to the people who strive to align with Discovery’s ambition of being a powerful force of social good. This year, Discovery Health has decided to honour Chief with the Discovery Health CEO Award.

“Chief is truly a remarkable human being and community leader, who is doing great things for society. Through his selfless attitude and his commitment of time and passion, Chief has already changed the lives of many. It is with a great sense of pride that Discovery Health honours such a noble and generous person”. He really lives out Discovery's values, said CEO of Discovery Health, Dr Jonathan Broomberg.

And this is only the beginning of a story. With prizes worth R10 000 that comes with his CEO award, Chief will be able to help even more children realise their potential and reach for their dreams.

Follow Chief’s journey

Chief recently started Instagram and Facebook pages so that more people can follow his journey and join him in helping the community. His pages can be found at:

Instagram: @TheWrightmovement01

Facebook: @TheWrightmovement01