Johannesburg, Jul 10 (PTI) Mahindra SA (MSA), the South Africa affiliate of the Indian automotive giant, has initiated a campaign to support needy communities in the country as unemployment, poverty and hunger increase exponentially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staff of Mahindra South Africa (MSA), its dealer network and other partners are participating in road trips to communities in need, delivering food parcels and other essentials.

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MSA provided funds to each participant, many of whom have added their own money to increase the assistance.

“At Mahindra, we are always looking for opportunities to help our local communities. We conceptualised the idea of partnering with everyone in our sphere of influence for a #RiseForGood campaign, which was kick-started by our friend and the winner of the last Survivor series, Rob Bentele,” said Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa.

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“Rob started the momentum by using his own money, commandeering his friends and family - and his Mahindra XUV300 – to deliver as many food parcels as possible to needy households in his childhood community of rural KwaZulu-Natal province.

“Following this selfless action, we handed the baton to our staff and challenged them to do the same, and we encouraged dealers and other companies in our sphere of influence to help out,” Gupta added.

The #RiseForGood campaign is part of a wider initiative by Mahindra to spark positive energy among its staff, customers and the communities in which it operates as part of the philosophy of the mother brand in India that ‘doing good' goes beyond philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.

“It is more than just random acts of kindness. ‘Doing good' is a purpose, an attitude, and a way of life. A guide for conducting business and the company itself,” Gupta said.

“We are very fortunate that our dealer network has adopted this philosophy and that they are also keen to #RiseForGood. Many of them have already started helping their customers and communities with donations, service support and even transport during the lockdown,” Gupta said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)