As part of their community upliftment initiative, Granny Mouse Country House & Spa recently invited 10 young ladies from the Lily of the Valley Children’s Village, coordinated by Nicola Basset and Spa Manager Liza Williams, to spend a day at the Spa as an opportunity for them to learn about the skills, qualifications and personal qualities needed as well as challenges and highlights of the Beauty Therapy career. The aim of the planned outing was for the girls to also get a glimpse of what it would be like to work in a Spa environment as well as motivate them to have dreams and plans for their future.

This visit formed part of an initiative by Lily of the Valley Children’s Village, an orphanage in Eston, who are developing an exit program for a group of young adults living at the home that aims to holistically equip them for the life skills needed for life outside of the orphanage when they have completed formal schooling. Due to a large number of these girls expressing interest in exploring a career in Beauty Therapy and the Hospitality industry, Granny Mouse seemed a great place to start, as the ladies have had very little exposure to these work environments previously and the visit assisted them in their decision making process.

After the ladies arrived and had been welcomed, each Granny Mouse Spa therapist did a short speech on how they started in the industry and how they have grown since then. A questions and answers session was then held and then each lady was taken on a tour of the Spa. To end it all off, each girls received a funky nail varnish and gift to take home with them.

Overall the day was a success and the ladies left feeling happy, smiling and motivated.

With National Arbour Week being held this month, Granny Mouse Country House & Spa will be getting their hands dirty by planting a number of new trees on the property, as well as decorating some of their existing, and rather prominent trees, with yellow ribbons. Not only will this mark the start of Spring, but will highlight the importance of these trees, many of which were planted on the property some 30 years ago – standing tall for all of Granny Mouse’s existence.

National Arbour Week, according to the South African Government Online, “is an opportune time to call on all South Africans to plant indigenous trees as a practical and symbolic gesture of sustainable environmental management.”

Businesses, individuals, schools and communities are encouraged to do their part and plant for National Arbour Week in order to create a greener and healthier environment and to teach others about the importance of trees in our lives.

Sean Granger, the General Manager of Granny Mouse says, “although the importance of Arbour Day seems to have been overshadowed on the calendar by many other events, we are committed to running the hotel in as green a manner as possible. This Arbour Day, we have chosen to plant trees as a Team, to signify our commitment to this movement.

The new saplings will certainly add additional charm to the already spectacular Granny Mouse Country House & Spa gardens.