The eLan Foundation is a mechanism to raise funding in order to improve the communities surrounding eLan Developments and is a body which steers and manages the social initiatives within the eLan Group. It is a NPO and Section 21 Registered Company. The mission is to work towards improving the lives of local communities surrounding eLan Developments.
The directors are Mark Taylor and Thami Kamanga.
The Aim of the Foundation is to research needs and identify opportunities, to raise funds and implement projects at grassroots level, to uplift and improve communities surrounding eLan Developments, to integrate (cross-pollinate) projects as far as possible so that every effort has maximum gain, to meet with government approval in terms of projects that share a similar vision, to have strategic alliances with existing service organisation and to create opportunities for previously disadvantaged communities through the intellectual capital of the eLan group and funding from corporates.
The main pillars of the Foundation are:
- Research – To ensure that each initiated project is sustainable, research into needs identification is critical. Research into surrounding communities assists in identifying existing projects that are in place thereby not duplicating efforts but rather working in building communities together.
- Integrated Human Settlement- In keeping in line with the vision of the Ministry of Housing, eLan Developments will strive to meet the most basic need of human existence, shelter. Whether it be in the form of inclusionary housing or the upgrading of existing homesteads or the provision of housing components nearby, the sphere of influence that a development has will far extend the borders of the estate itself.
- Skills Development– In order to improve the social structure of the community once the basic needs have been met, the introduction of SETA Training Programmes will skill and equip a large workforce as a resource pool for the development.
- Farming– Sustainable farming projects including (where viable) organic practices will be introduced to communities and the introduction of agricultural landscaping and edible gardens in social housing communities.
- Environment– With the tagline “Good Living is in your Nature” it is the ethos of the eLan Group to put environmental concerns first when embarking on a development.
- Education– The antics of the previous government have left a backlog of more than 40 years of education. Illiteracy rates are high at around 24% of adults over 15 years old (6- to 8-million adults are not functionally literate).
- Wellbeing– The need for adequate nutrition and food supply exists in varying degrees, most specifically in the outer edges of the population spectrum – the very youngest and the very oldest of the generation who are the most vulnerable members of the community.
- Economic Empowerment– A prerequisite laid down by the eLan Group, contractors will be required to recruit their labour force from local communities, where previously unemployed individuals would have completed SETA Training and would be equipped to take on permanent employment.
- Sport– The need to introduce and support sports at grass-roots level brings about a social element which is critical for the youth of today. Using sport as a catalyst, the eLan Foundation will bring people together developing their sporting aspirations.