Do it Day? Done it!

For the second year running, ECOSERV staff embarked on a teambuilding activity with a difference: Do It Day.

“Do it Day is held on 19 September every year in SA,” explains ECOSERV senior consultant Mia Antoni. “It is when SA businesses get together to give back to their communities. This year, we landscaped a garden at the World Changers Academy (WCA) in Shongweni. The WCA make a positive impact on people in KwaZulu-Natal by running leadership and life skills programmes for high school students and the unemployed from disadvantaged communities.”

A team of 20 from ECOSERV’s Durban office enlisted the assistance of Red Root Landscapes to redesign an area on World Changers 43 acre smallholding.
“Red Root went in the day before and cleared up the area so we could get stuck in as soon as we arrived,” says ECOSERV project organizer Michelle Watson. “We put in a gravel circular area with a table and chairs, plants, stepping stones and a pathway. We also gave them an earthworm farm to dispose of their surplus food. The supermarkets give them a lot of food that is close to its expiry date, and a lot of it has to be thrown away. The worm farm processes this waste, producing concentrated fertiliser.”

Do it Day also achieved teambuilding with impact. “We certainly had good fun,” says Michelle. “It is good to get out of the office and work together on something that is significant for our neighbours.”

ECOSERV MD Quentin Hurt, who also got his fingers dirty, says it was great to see people take on different roles in a meaningful teambuilding activity. “Do it Day transcends more typical methods of teambuilding, such as shooting paintballs. The day was a reminder of how fortunate we are. We were humbled by World Changers and what they achieve with very few resources.”

One of the academy’s founders, American Joe White, says the area has been completely transformed. “It doesn’t even look like the same place. However, it has created a problem as that spot is more beautiful than the rest of property,” Joe jokes. “The challenge now is to improve the rest of the property.”

Joe says that while the area used to be a place that people passed through, it has become a gathering place where people sit and chat. “We are really impressed and appreciative of what ECOSERV have done. It is encouraging to our staff to have people from another company, who don’t even know us, come and help.”

ECOSERV also roped in another of its service providers to assist World Changers. “Our IT company, Wy-It, very kindly set up a server with a mini network and provided the academy with an internet connection. They did a fantastic job that will save WCA a great deal in Internet charges and delays,” says Quentin.