Corporate Social Investment

“The core of our approach is to demystify Maths, Science and Technology”

The Telkom Foundation, which runs and funds all our corporate social investment initiatives, continues to be recognised by other corporates and non-government organisations (NGOs) as one of South Africa's leading CSI investors.

As a leading telecommunications group, many of our CSI projects are directed at mobile libraries, science laboratories and ICT projects which are managed by the Molteno Institute of Language and Literacy.

The mobile libraries, referred to as ‘Willie Wagons', provide books to learners from Grade R to 7 and are geared towards creating a reading culture amongst these learners.

The laboratories provide training courses for teachers in maths, physical science, technology and entrepreneurship.

The ICT schools project is an integrated socio-economic development programme designed to address escalating poverty levels and under development. Its primary focus is on quality improvement in primary and secondary education and providing better access to information and communication technology to schools.

In the year under review we funded:

• 150 ICT schools in the Western Cape;
• 100 schools with mobile libraries and science laboratories; and
• 187 Beacon of Hope projects.

We also provide support to the National and Provincial Departments of Education through interventions with teachers, learners, schools curricula, tours, knowledge, skills and other educational means. The core of our approach is to demystify maths, science and technology to the core communities we support, the rural and semi-rural communities and in particular, disadvantaged communities.

Overall, our goal is to systematically help the Department of Education to convert the schools we support into e-Education resource centres. In addition to the three projects listed above, as part of our e-Education project, we supplied 1,000 schools with one computer each; supported 100 Supercentre schools; 102 dedicated schools (Dinaledi); 157 Thintana schools; 30 special schools; 30 ad-hoc schools and 31 ICT Saturday schools.

The Beacon of Hope programme is perhaps the Telkom Foundation's most powerful opportunity to change and shape individual lives.

Launched in 2006, the initiative which is run jointly with our Centre of Learning, takes high potential learners from disadvantaged communities across the country and places them in some of South Africa's leading private boarding schools.

Currently there are 198 learners participating and our Foundation pays for their tuition, boarding fees, uniforms, books, stationery, sporting equipment and pocket money. The project continues until the learners complete Grade 12. In the year under review, 10 learners from nine disadvantaged primary schools in nine provinces participated in the project.

Many Beacon of Hope learners have achieved very good results thanks in no small measure to the fact that many of the participating schools have gone the extra mile in providing extra lessons and afternoon classes to help the learners meet the required standards, especially in English.

Some of the shining stars unearthed by the programme are Zimasa Malunga from Langa who is studying at Wynberg Boys High School in Cape Town; Busisiwe Cingo from East London who is at St Patricks College in KwaZulu-Natal; and Tshidiso Mafereka and Charles Rakiavoane from Winburg who are based at the New Horizons College in Harrismith, Free State.

In the year under review. The Foundation's CEO, Reabetsoe Motsepe, identified two potential leaders in the form of Nthabiseng Ntshihlele from the Kabelo Primary School and Tsholofelo 'Shorty' Motshekwane from the Segale Primary School. She will be following their progress with great interest.

Other projects supported by the Foundation are:

• Childline (a toll-free telephone service);
• LifeLine (a toll-free telephone service);
• Ucingo (weaving arts and crafts projects using our redundant copper wire);
• ICT empowered communities (Bergville, KwaMncane, Inanda and Emabhuyeni in KwaZulu-Natal and Elukwatini in Mpumalanga);
• Adopt-a project (an initiative where senior management choose a project in their own communities); and
• Giving from the heart (a project where employees get involved in charitable initiatives in their communities by contributing their time, skills and money).

The year ahead

In the year under review we established the Telkom Foundation Economic Development portfolio which focuses on the transformation of disadvantaged communities through skills development, the promotion of employability and the alleviation of poverty through a range of funded projects.

As community development is not one of our core competencies we are working with civil society to develop a systematic approach that defines and meets real community needs. To date we have established the following projects: Internet Café; Right Entry and a Small Business development centre.

We are currently identifying and evaluating four projects for the 2010/11 financial year. These are:

• The Calker Organisation, a Section 21 organisation that promotes skills development through empowering disadvantaged communities;
• Growing Community Initiative, a project which trains unemployed youths to increase their employment opportunities;
• African Spirit, a community-based crafting NGO in Estcourt, KwaZulu- Natal that, over the past three years, has successfully trained more than 650 people; and
• Skills development through FET colleges, a project initiated by us that helps students access skills development training.

Sponsorships

Telkom's involvement as a national supporter in provisioning the backbone ICT infrastructure that delivered the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ to a global audience, was reinforced by mounting football sculptures onto the Lukasrand (Pretoria) and Johannesburg towers. These giant footballs reinforced Telkom's sponsorship of the first World Cup on African soil, and highlighted the Group's determination to make a decisive contribution to the success of the tournament.

Telkom also continued to support local soccer by sponsoring two major Premier Soccer League (PSL) events, the Telkom Charity Cup and the Telkom Knockout. Then Group's support for the Charity Cup – a one-day event that raises much-needed funds for charity organisations – stretches across a decade. The 2009 event raised R3.6 million. The Group has sponsored the Telkom Knockout since 2006. The tournament takes place over 12 weeks and involves all 16 PSL teams. Because of its unique nature, the tournament has been growing in popularity.

The Group is still the country's only serious corporate sponsor of swimming. This has resulted in the spontaneous recognition factor of Telkom as a sponsor being exceptionally high. Telkom's support for the sport is channelled through Swimming South Africa, whose Learn to Swim programme has benefited thousands.

• View Telkom Sponsorships