MTN employees give back for 21 Days of Y'ello Care

MTN SA employees across the country are gearing up to kick off the annual 21 Days of Y'ello Care, on 1 June 2018. The flagship staff volunteerism initiative takes place across the operation's 22 markets in Africa and the Middle East. The 8 000-strong workforce will commit 21 days in June to participate in giving their time, skills and resources to provide for those less fortunate.

The MTN 21km half-marathon will kick off the initiative on 2 June. The race is a pivotal part of the 21 Days, with almost 8 500 runners taking to the streets of Johannesburg to run 5km, 10km or 21km to raise money for the chosen beneficiaries.

All proceeds are used to further invest in ICT in education, transferring skills to learners. The key beneficiary for 2018 is the Sizwile Special School for the Deaf, located in Dobsonvillle, Soweto where MTN will donate a multimedia centre. In addition, MTN will hand over a multimedia centre and also refurbish the Afrika Tikkun Youth Centre in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.

"We are looking forward to harnessing the power of the MTN brand by brightening the lives of those who are economically marginalised and making a positive difference in the communities we operate in," says Jacqui O'Sullivan, Executive for Corporate Affairs at MTN SA. "Through these initiatives, we seek to reduce the poverty gap and use the power of ICT to give hope to impoverished communities."

The multimedia media centre at Sizwile Special School for the Deaf will be officially handed over on 8 June in an event that will be presided over by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Social Development, Henrietta Bogopane-Zulu; MEC of Education in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi; and officials from the South Africa Social Security Agency (SASSA).

The MTN SA Foundation has partnered with many additional South African corporates for the 2018 race, namely: Huawei, Central Gauteng Athletics, CAMAF, the Department of Social Development, the Gauteng Department of Education, Central Gauteng Athletics, the Road Accident Fund, KIA, Imvula Security, Tata Consulting, Huawei, LV Nutrition, Mosaiek Church, City of Johannesburg, Clover (remove Clover), Ikhethelo and the Constantia Park branch of Checkers.

The MTN 21 Days of Y'ello Care initiative is not be limited to Gauteng, and will see employees in KwaZulu-Natal hand over pairs of school shoes to Kwavulundlebe School of the Deaf, in Umlazi, while in the Western Cape learners at Athlone School of the Blind will receive 300 pairs of school shoes.

21 Days of Y'ello Care activities are also planned in the Eastern Cape, where MTN employees will install ablution facilities at Mzamomhle Special School and Luna Primary School, and hand over 730 pairs of school shoes to the learners. An additional 429 pairs of school shoes will be handed over to learners at Gengqe Senior Secondary and Primary School.

In the Free State and Northern Province, 300 pairs of school shoes, winter gloves and scarfs will be donated to Tatello Special School and George Kekana Secure Care School respectively.

The 21 Days of Y'ello Care will close with a career day hosted at MTN's head office in Johannesburg, where 150 youth from disadvantaged communities will be invited to a showcase of MTN's entrepreneurial projects and offerings from its technology partners, including Huawei, Samsung, Microsoft, Mustek, Ericsson, Denel and the navy and air force of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

"Having identified areas that needed help, our employees will be working hard during the 21 days to brighten the lives of those in the communities they come from. We hope that through this initiative we are able to positively impact the lives of all communities and learners involved, providing assistance where needed and exposing them to opportunities within the ICT sector," concludes O'Sullivan.