The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Durban University of Technology, Professor Thandwa Zizwe Mthembu recently delivered a keynote address and led the opening of the Fountain of Life at the launch of the Rajen Reddy (RR) Foundation, held at a gala dinner in Durban on Friday, 18 February 2022.
The date of the launch also marked the first death anniversary of the late Mr Rajen Reddy, the founder of KZN Oils. According to Mr Reddy’s wife, Mrs Esay Reddy (Group CEO), the Rajen Reddy Foundation is an institutional embodiment of the core values and ideologies of Mr Rajen Reddy as a businessman.
“The profound work ethic, dedication, and grit he epitomised now informs and inspires this foundation’s values, mission, and vision. It will operate in three sectors: Education, Health and Philosophical Psychology. The flagship of education is the Rajen Reddy School of Leadership. The flagship of health will be the Aurora Hospice for Children. The flagship for philosophical psychology will be the helpline for Gender-based Violence and Mental Health, in which JD Telecom will operate a twenty-four-hour call centre seven days a week,” said Mrs Reddy, giving a brief background of the RR Foundation.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof Mthembu noted that he had several brief discussions with the late Mr Reddy about his humble beginnings, working with his father as a handyman, without any opportunity to even dream about going to University.
“I had always been intrigued about what drove his love for education and broader community advancement. Mr Rajen Reddy was driven to constantly challenge himself, not moaning incessantly, knowing that his creator had endowed him with unbounded capacity to innovate and provide solutions to whatever challenges he, his family and community at large would face from time to time. Had he denied himself such self-agency and self-bureaucracy, had he been moaning incessantly and not focusing on innovations and solutions, he would have denied all of us in this room the gift of innovations and advancements he contributed to our lives and livelihoods,” said Prof Mthembu.
Prof Mthembu applauded Mr Reddy for his outstanding contributions to the improvement of the lives and livelihoods of communities. This led to Mr Reddy to have a strong association with DUT because the DUT strategy, ENVISION2030 is ultimately about how DUT contributes to the lives and livelihoods of its people in the broader society.
“DUT is proud to be associated with Mr Rajen Reddy, who was clearly a trailblazer and entrepreneur of note within KwaZulu-Natal and certainly nationally. His accomplishments in the petroleum/oils industry, particularly at a time when there were very few black industrialists in the field, serve as testament to his pioneering spirit. Mr Rajen Reddy also “put his money where his mouth was”. DUT was humbled to receive a donation from one of his business entities, KZN Oils, towards student bursaries. He was keen to assist DUT to improve its BBBEE rating so as to attract more donations from his entities and others,” added Prof Mthembu.
Prof Mthembu also led the unveiling of the Fountain of Life, which is in the shape of the iconic lotus flower.
In attendance at this prestigious event was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement at DUT, Professor Sibusiso Moyo.
“We miss Mr Reddy as a member of the DUT Foundation. He was very passionate about developing youth and education. We look forward to opportunities where the DUT Foundation and the RR Foundation can form joint partnerships and collaborate on mutually beneficial initiatives. Congratulations once again to the family on the successful launch,” said Prof Moyo.
Pictured: DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu.
Simangele Zuma
