MTN SA’s ‘Y’ello Care Bus’ has returned to base after celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary by reaching out to more than 4700 of South Africa’s children and ending 2024’s extended 30-day ‘Y’ello Care’ staff-driven initiative to help bridge the digital divide by taking education to rural schools where resources such as libraries and tech teaching resources are lacking.
During June, under the banner of “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow: Education for Rural and Remote Communities,” the Y’ello Care mobile tech library covered 1 287 km as it wound across Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Free State and North-West Province, frequently stopping at selected schools to bring learning to life for children. Where schools could not be reached by the ‘Y’ello Care’ bus, employees from MTN regional offices delivered laptops, tablets, stationery and sanitary products to assist disadvantaged learners with their day-to-day needs.
“Every June since 2007, MTN employees across South Africa have been involved in local initiatives to give back to the communities they serve. This year, over 1100 MTN employees supported ‘Yello Care’ campaigns that were extended from the traditional 21 days to 30 days to mark our watershed anniversary, which coincides with the introduction of democracy to South Africa,” says Arthur Mukhuvha, General Manager of MTN SA Foundation.
For the entire month of June, MTN staff used their skills and company-donated resources, including the Y’ello Care mobile library centrepiece, to visit 11 secondary schools in small towns and villages. This brought learning opportunities to children who – because they are from marginalised communities – have little access to quality education.
Like all MTN educational programmes, the bus aimed to help level the academic playing field by ensuring that children can access the same quality education as their peers in urban centres.
The mobile library was uniquely designed to support MTN’s tech-driven community programmes to which it has been committed for many years. Throughout the month, learners from five provinces were encouraged to use the bus facilities to access online educational resources, particularly those designed to support vital STEM subjects.
“The Y’ello Bus was a natural extension to our well-developed campaigns, which have for 30 years seen schools and community centres equipped with multi-media facilities. We are proud that by promoting learning and computer literacy, and helping learners embrace coding and robotics, we provide South African youth with opportunities to break free of the circle of poverty and disadvantaged lives to create new, exciting futures.”
“By reaching thousands of children, the mobile library is proving itself to be an invaluable tool in helping to reduce the deficits created by unequal access to education, social inequality and accessibility that still exist in South Africa. We are dedicated to continuing to address these inequalities and creating real opportunities for South Africans,” says Mukhuvha.
Please see link to the Y’ello Care wrap-up video: https://youtu.be/1a9sWnYGC3U?si=rFrgFswdRPKMj35n
