Cricket fever was at an all time high at the Ivory Park IkamvaYouth Centre as Neotel launched the Community Internet Cafe in partnership with our friends at Siyakhula. Ikamvanites participated in the festivites and were joined by the Nashua Titans’s Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, Henry Davids, Farhaan Behardien, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, David Wiese and the Bizhub Team Cyclists’ Lynn Torp, Catherine Williamson and Yolandi du Toit to celebrate the event.
A massive thank you to Neotel for an awesome day and the excitement of which was reflected in the response from the community to Neotel’s generous donation of computers, printers, scanners and internet access to the centre and people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park. Our friends at the Siyakhula Computer School aim to inspire students to broaden their knowledge and increase their chances of entry into the working world and this will be all the more easier with the installation of 10 computers, unlimited access to the web, as well as computer lessons so that Siyakhula remains a place of hope and inspiration.
The Nashua Titans themselves also got a chance to “test-drive” the internet café and were taught a thing or two by some of the local community members who have been attending the computer courses on offer at Siyakhula. They then proceeded to take on the Ikamvanites in a 10 minute aside soccer games, mingling with each other amid a lots of physical activity.
Also in attendance was Carol Manana of SABC Sport, Giant Leap, Medi-IQand the favorites of the day Akhumzi and Cindy of Yo-TV who stole the show as everybody wanted a piece of them. Be sure to watch the Big Breakfast show on SABC 1 on Saturday 12th..
One of SA’s top 5 cyclists, Yolandi du Toit was impressed by what she experienced,
“This is not just some passing campaign, this is here to stay, improve people’s lives and truly make a difference […] the people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park have secured an opportunity to better their education and skills.”
Considering the day was dedicated to education and enhancing one’s skills, the sports celebrities were given a chance to showcase their skills and expertise with workspace specialists, Giant Leap who kindly donated nearly 100 soccer balls. These were put to good use by the players and community members in the keenly contested sporting challenges. Alongside this were other fun fitness activities hosted by leading sports equipment suppliers, Medi IQ with hurdles, hoola-hooping and bouncing balls. Titans captain, Jacques Rudolph had the following to say:
“I think that the set up here is fantastic and that the people of Ebony Park and Ivory Park are both fortunate and grateful for all that they have on their doorstep. I encourage other corporates to get involved in their local communities, as it is actually very easy to make a significant difference.”
In her address to the community, Pumi Sithole of Neotel expressed their desire as an organisation to bring about change and positively influence the next generation of leaders. Furthermore, Neotel also donated an overhead projector and screen to the centre in addition to the centre’s current internet café.
“If we can begin by making a positive impact on the development of each community – no matter how big or small that development is, the prospects for this country will be unlimited”, affirmed Pumi.
It’s another goal scored for Siyakhula, IkamvaYouth and Neotel with the successful internet empowerment of the surrounding community! You can be sure that the Ikamvanites will benefit tremendously from the internet now readily avaialble to them
More photos of the day are available to view here.
Written in part by Caroline Malan from MSCSPORTS.
Lloyd Lungu