The SABC Foundation harnesses the media resources of the SABC to uplift impoverished communities. Through educational programmes, public service announcements and focused social investment activities, with a particular emphasis on children and the youth, the SABC Foundation aims to assist and empower the rural communities in which the SABC operates.
About the Foundation
The SABC Foundation invests in social economic projects that further the development of South Africa by harnessing the media power and resources of the SABC. The Foundation works to build partnerships and to serve and empower rural communities in a sustainable and impactful way.
The Foundation’s activities are focused in five areas: orphaned and vulnerable children; education and skills development; people with disabilities; NGO support; and health. The goal is to go beyond big cities to the communities in which immediate poverty relief is most needed.
Many of the Foundation’s CSI efforts are directed towards children and youths in these areas of extreme poverty, who it assists by providing access to and improving the quality of education. A few highlights of the past financial year were the Foundation’s involvement in the Namakwaland Project and its bursary programme.
The Namakwaland Project
Namakwa District Municipality is one of five districts in the Northern Cape. It is a rural area where most of the population is unemployed and desperately impoverished. Furthermore, the quality of schools and teaching in the region is notoriously poor. In April 2016, the Foundation identified seven schools in the Kamiesberg Local Municipality that were critically in need of help. It engaged with the schools and the surrounding communities to provide three levels of support.
1. Donations to learners in need
The Foundation donated R250 000 worth of uniforms, stationery and other school necessities to children at each of the identified schools. In total, 350 learners benefited from the donation and became better equipped to attend school.
2. Bursaries to assist promising learners
As part of the Foundation’s national bursary scheme, two comprehensive bursaries were awarded to excelling matric learners at Kharkams High School, so that they can further their studies at a tertiary level. Each of the bursaries is worth R300 000, and will provide these students with the opportunity to reach their academic and professional potential.
3. Media support to inspire hope and encourage community processes
An important part of the Foundation’s CSI activity is offering free public service announcements to worthy organisations. In Kamiesberg, the Foundation partnered with RSG, SABC’s radio station in the area, to celebrate the community’s resilience in the face of a school rationalisation policy implemented by the Department of Education.
Through its media support, the Foundation was able to support teachers and learners, and encourage the communities to prioritise education as the most important tool to empower and enable young people.
Working together towards development and hope
The Foundation is conscious of the importance of engaging with all stakeholders, so that it can direct its support to where it will have the most impact. Equally importantly, the Foundation has realised its crucial role in providing not only resources, but hope. The Namakwaland Project – which is one of many more like it to come – is an example of how the Foundation is able to assist not only by providing physical resources, but also by showing children what they can accomplish and encouraging them to dream.
Source: Trialogue CSI Handbook 2016