Khutala hosts its first community safety awareness campaign

Khutala hosted its first community safety awareness campaign in 2024 to create awareness of home safety, particularly in winter. This event was attended by representatives from nine local communities, Protection Services, Khutala Women in Mining Committee, Community Development, Environment, Health & Wellness, and various other stakeholders.

The dangers associated with using izimbawula during the winter season are a reality in most of these communities, which can lead to house fires and further risks of wildfires spreading that can result in multiple houses being destroyed. The health and wellness team shared some information on personal hygiene and health screening was conducted which included blood pressure, glucose, and HIV screening. In addition to this, Khutala partners with the SAPS to address concerns about human trafficking and the vulnerability of the victims.

Seriti also partnered with Afrocentric which is part of the private sector forum of SANAC (South African National Aids Council) to provide comprehensive health screening (i.e. blood pressure, pulse, voluntary counselling and testing, tuberculosis, etc) to 17,000 people in the peri-mining communities. So far, 4,000 community members have been screened and those who were found to have underlying medical conditions were referred for treatment. The initiative will mitigate the peri-mining’s quadruple burden of disease and will ensure that good health is a key ingredient for both economic and social development while strengthening the public health system.