Johannesburg - The Envisionit Bursary Foundation gala dinner was filled with fancy dress, good food and an abundance of alcohol.
The foundation is the charity arm of Envisionit Capital Solutions.
Established in 2011, the foundation currently supports six graduates.
It also sponsors the education of 26 students from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Tshwane and the Western Cape.
TV personalities Janez Vermeiren and Anele Mdoda hosted the gala, entertaining the crowd with some cheeky one-liners, including this one: “We asked KPMG to audit the dinner.”
Bongani Baloyi, a graduate of the bursary foundation, told the heartwarming story of how he came into contact with the bursary’s founder and trustee, Terence Naidu, saying Naidu had given him the opportunity to pursue his educational dreams.
Catering company By Word of Mouth indulged the attendees with fine dining, which included yummy desserts such as beetroot-flavoured meringue and deconstructed tiramisu.
Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan was the keynote speaker. With grace and clarity, he highlighted the importance of education for a strong economy.
Elias Masilela, former chief executive of the Public Investment Corporation, was another influential person gracing the occasion.
Artists, including Philippe Uzac and Lionel Smit, donated some of their works to the foundation. These were auctioned off at the gala event.
This proved to be an entertaining part of the night as some of South Africa’s richest gave a sizeable amount of their money to a good cause, acquiring a variety of sculptures and paintings in the process.