The fight against violence against women and children will be strengthened when Vodacom’s Yebo Heroes in the company’s central region join concerned members of the public, in a protest march in Bloemfontein on Friday, 4 December.
At least 1 200 people, including 400 school children from four schools, 300 supporters of Bloemfontein Celtic, and 500 adult members of the public, are expected to join in the march, which will start from Glass Palace and end with a motivational talk at the Free State athletic stadium.
Yebo Heroes, a Vodacom foundation programme, creates a platform for employees to contribute to social projects by expressing their inherent need to share their time, talents and skills with communities and effect positive change.
Neville van Niekerk, Regional Executive of the Vodacom Central region, says: “Vodacom is very aware of the damaging impact of violence against women and children, on society at large. In partnership with government departments and sporting bodies, we are pleased to be part of an initiative that seeks to end this scourge in our society. We urge all who attend this march to listen with great care to the message that will be given, take its meaning to heart and also spread to many others.”
The initiative is the result of collaboration between several partners, including Vodacom central region’s Yebo Heroes, Bloemfontein Celtic, Child Welfare and Child Helpline, the Department of Social Development, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the mayor’s office in the Mangaung municipality, the Departments of Education and Correctional Services, Central University of Technology (CUT) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The theme of the march is ‘Men, rise up and take your rightful places’, and the message is expected to focus on the need for men, including husbands, fathers, brothers and uncles, to stand up and become leaders of their communities, homes and families by taking their responsibilities seriously.
The march is part of a broader campaign focusing on the 16 Days of Activism from 25 November to 10 December 2009. The four participating schools; Heide Primary, Sentral Primary, Polokehong Primary and Botlehadi Primary, are taking part in poetry and drawing competitions that will capture the theme. The R2 500 prize for each category is being sponsored by Vodacom.
All the children taking part in the march will receive a Vodacom branded t-shirt, while the first 500 adults will also get a t-shirt. The t-shirts will also feature a message for the 16 Days of Activism.
The initiative, is one of 270 projects that Yebo Heroes have become involved in countrywide, since the inception of the programme in 2007. To date, 2 046 Vodacom employees have registered as Yebo Heroes to become involved in voluntary activities in communities around them.
Examples of the projects through which the Yebo Heroes are “showing their hearts” include:
* painting a wall and planting vegetables in a shelter for abused women
* cuddling a baby in a home for abandoned babies
* spray painting their own and sports fans' heads in aid of a cancer charity, cleaning up a sensitive wetlands area.
The Vodacom foundation was established in 1999 as the main vehicle for coordinating Vodacom’s corporate social investments (CSI). Since then, the foundation has invested more than R500 million to uplift and improve communities. The foundation’s vision is to give life to the Vodacom group’s commitment to explore opportunities available to share the company’s successes with communities who have helped achieve them. Its focus is to enhance the quality of life of vulnerable people, with special emphasis on the application of information and communication technology to address challenges in education, health and security.
Contact:
Ruth Coggin
Tel: 011 487 0026
Cell: 082 903 5819
E-mail: ruth@quo-vadis.co.za
Palesa Chabula
Tel: 011 653 5661
Cell: 082 997 1677
E-mail: palesa.chabula@vodacom.co.za
Issued by: Department of Education, Free State Provincial Government
2 December 2009
