PRESS RELEASE: MTN brightens lives in Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth province with R100,000 in food and PPE aid

MTN-VPO-2018.png

MTN Press Office

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 29th JUNE 2020, – CAJ News Africa – New Y’ello Hope campaign providing support for society’s most vulnerable in wake of COVID-19.

With vulnerable South Africans and small businesses being the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTN SA Foundation has launched a major national initiative to give back and offer lasting support to the communities that MTN serves. Additionally, a major rollout in Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth of food and personal protective equipment (PPE) is taking place to help limit the spread of the virus and keep more people safe.

With the effects of the virus and lockdown still reverberating across the country, MTN’s new Y’ello Hope campaign has one thing in mind: To brighten more lives and make a meaningful difference in the key areas of health, food and water security.

Thanks to this initiative, Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth has R100,000 to contribute to food and protective personal equipment. Middelburg, Masibambisane Home base care and Esandleni Sousa Soup Kitchen are the organisations/ communities which have been selected to benefit in the province.

Staff at MTN in Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth have already enthusiastically taken up the challenge to give back by pledging their time and expertise to help those most in need.

100 beneficiaries based in the Middelburg will receive assistance with regards to food, water and PPE’s. Masibambisane Home base care beneficiary will receive food that will provide between 250-300 children per day. Esandleni Sousa Soup Kitchen will receive food that will provide approximately 1000 people a week.

With COVID-19 changing the world during the first half of this year, it was clear to MTN that even more needed to be done. MTN decided to roll out a new staff volunteerism programme for 2020, under the banner of ‘Y’ello Hope’. What makes this different is that it is running for the full months of June and July, and is aimed at providing a wider range of interventions, while assisting even more people across all 9 provinces of SA.

“At MTN we believe that everybody deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. The hardship caused by COVID-19 cuts deep and has hindered many hopes and dreams for people across the country. Now is the time for us all to work harder together to provide support and rekindle hope,” says Vusi Ndwandwe, from MTN Regional General manager.

“The beneficiaries of Y’ello Hope are all in disadvantaged areas and are facing severe socio-economic challenges. What COVID-19 has highlighted is that the immediate challenges faced by the most vulnerable are lack of adequate health resources, food security, due to loss of income, and clean water in several communities after severe droughts in the last rainy season. We’ve committed ourselves to help in a structured, tangible way and bring back hope,” says Vusi Ndwandwe.

In addition, the Y’ello Hope programme is focused on providing virtual support to SMEs that are being crippled by the restrictions on trade resulting from the lockdown. Key business units within MTN will give selected SMEs a lifeline and assist in creating new job opportunities.

Through this part of the programme, MTNers are able to pledge their time and expertise to businesses in need of assistance during the months of June and July. They will be offering support to businesses struggling with IT problems, or in need of accounting, legal, marketing, social media and other specialist skills.

Over the past several years, MTN has run its immensely successful ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ staff volunteerism programme, between 1 and 21 June each year. The main focus of this programme was around empowering young South Africans during Youth Month.

“We have totally changed-up our approach to staff volunteerism this year to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic on impoverished communities. We are leveraging our resources to make a real difference to help keep SMEs afloat,” says Ndwandwe.

Staff are able to make financial contributions directly to a fund set up to benefit communities, while regional mobile money (MoMo) accounts are also being made available to directly support specific causes and NGO’s within the region.

“Eastern Cape has not been spared from the devastating effects of the pandemic as poverty, inequality and unemployment worsen. So, in addition to supporting a range of government-led relief efforts over the past few months, MTN and its staff aim to do far more. Together, we can ensure a brighter future awaits our country and its people,” concludes Ndwandwe.

Distributed by CAJ News Africa on behalf of MTN.

ISSUED BY:
Leigh-Ann Chetty, Senior Manager: Public Relations, MTN SA
Cell: 083 209 1310
Leigh-Ann.Chetty@mtn.com

Mthokozisi Ndlovu, Manager: Communications and Public Relations, MTN SA
Cell: 083 209 2683
Mthokozisi.Ndlovu@mtn.com

ABOUT MTN GROUP
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging markets operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our 240 million customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code “MTN”. We are pursuing our BRIGHT strategy with a major focus on growth in data, fintech and digital businesses.

Visit us at www.mtn.com or www.mtn.co.za
Follow us on Twitter @MTNza

scroll to top