Residents of Doornkop in the Steve Tswete Municipality were enthusiastic about the 176 trees they planted this week thanks to “Tractors for Trees”, a joint initiative between vehicle and asset finance specialist WesBank, Afgri and Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA).

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The WesBank “Tractors for Trees” was launched in the Agriculture Finance division of WesBank nine months ago. A percentage of every new finance transaction written by the division goes towards sponsoring trees and the training of community members for residents of low income settlements across South Africa.

Johan Keet, Business Head of WesBank’s Agriculture Finance division, commented, “The new trees will provide much needed shade for the residents, will help to settle the dust and will assist to develop leafy more habitable suburbs and a greener future for the residents of Doornkop.”

The 176 trees, as well as the community training, were provided by social greening enterprise FTFA as part of their Trees for Homes programme. FTFA has been greening South Africa since 1990 and has already distributed over 4.1 million trees, with  support from many sponsors.

These WesBank trees were distributed from the Doornkop Community Centre. WesBank and Afgri staff members and the team from FTFA handed out the 176 trees to the excited and grateful residents.

The low cost houses of Doornkop are located approximately 18km north of Middelburg town. The area was a subject of a land claim, a claim by people whose forefathers were given succour by missionaries in the nineteenth century and who were then demanding the very land to which their ancestors fled and which fostered them in their time of need. This donation of trees will aid greatly in greening the area.

“The “Tractors for Trees” initiative demonstrates WesBank’s commitment to environmental awareness and sustainable community upliftment”, concludes Keet.