Telkom Foundation drives Rally to Read
The Telkom Foundation has partnered with the Read Trust for the Rally to Read programme to bring educational resources to remote rural and disadvantaged communities.
For the past 12 years sponsors, organisers and participants of the Rally have visited the most remote rural areas to deliver books, teaching aids, science kits, sports equipment, educational toys and other material.
In May 2012, the 15th series of Rallies will take place. During the weekends of May, convoys of off-road vehicles will again depart from main cities across the country to deliver educational materials to some of the country's most neglected schools.
Telkom has exclusively sponsored the first Rally taking place in Limpopo and will venture out with 25 vehicles and 100 participants to selected schools in the area.
Telkom Foundation is also involved, in terms of supporting this initiative, in eight other provinces and has sponsored four cars for each of the Rallies in these provinces.
Once at the schools, Rally participants meet and interact with the learners and teachers who benefit from the deliveries as well as the subsequent professional development which is provided for three years by The READ Educational Trust.
Sarah Mthintso, Head of the Telkom Foundation says: "Our aim is to contribute to improving the national education system by ensuring that our learners are given support in education particularly in the foundation phase."
"Telkom is eagerly awaiting the school visits with which will be undertaken by our internal and external stakeholders. The Company anticipates that the impact of this wonderful programme will be positive experiences for all that participate," concluded Ms Mthintso.
For further enquiries, please contact:
PYNEE CHETTY
Senior Specialist: Media Relations
Tel.: (012) 311-5247
Cell: 081 389 7874
Email: chettpr2@telkom.co.za
or
LEIGH-ANN FRANCIS
Specialist: Media Relations
Tel.: (012) 311-7114
Cell: 081 391 4780
Email: francilm@telkom.co.za
About Telkom
Telkom is a leading communications services provider in South Africa and on the African continent. We had consolidated normalised operating revenue from continuing operations of R33.4 billion and normalised profit for the year from continuing operations of R2.4 billion for the year ended 31 March 2011. Total assets from continuing operations amounted to R54.3 billion and equity attributable to the owners of Telkom to R29.6 billion as of 31 March 2011. The group generated normalised free cash flow of R3.5 billion for the year ended 31 March 2011.
We had consolidated operating revenue from continuing operations of R16.4 billion and profit for the period from continuing operations of R502 million for the six months ended 30 September 2011. Total assets amounted to R52.4 billion and equity attributable to the owners of Telkom to R29.1 billion as of 30 September 2011. The group generated free cash flow of R1.5 billion for the six months ended 30 September 2011.
As of 30 September 2011, we had approximately 4.1 million telephone access lines in service and 99.9% of our telephone access lines were connected to digital exchanges. We offer business, residential and payphone customers a wide range of services and products, including:
- fixed-line subscription and connection services to post-paid, prepaid and private payphone customers using PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) lines, including ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) lines, and the sale of the subscription based value-added voice services and customer premises equipment rental and sales;
- fixed-line traffic services to post-paid, prepaid, and payphone customers, including local, long distance, fixed-to-mobile, international outgoing and international voice-over-internet protocol traffic services;
- interconnection services, including terminating and transiting traffic from South African mobile operators, as well as from international operators and transiting traffic from mobile to international destinations;
- fixed-line data centre operations and internet services,including domestic and international data transmission services, such as point-to-point leased lines, ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) services, packet-based services, managed data networking services and internet access and related information technology services;
- e-commerce, including internet access service provider, application service provider, hosting, data storage, e-mail and security services;
- W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), a 3G next generation network, including fixed voice services, data services and nomadic voice services;
- mobile communication services, including voice services, data services and handset sales through its mobile brand called 8•ta; and
- other services including directory services, through Trudon (Proprietary) Limited, wireless data services, through Swiftnet (Proprietary) Limited and internet services outside South Africa, through iWayAfrica Group (integration of Africa Online Limited and MWEB Africa Limited).