MTN staff support vulnerable students

MTN Rwanda has announced the commencement of the ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ campaign from which each member of staff will make a financial contribution that will support one child’s education for nine years.

Monday, June 04, 2012
MTNu2019s Khaled Mikkawi.

MTN Rwanda has announced the commencement of the ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ campaign from which each member of staff will make a financial contribution that will support one child’s education for nine years.A statement from the telecommunication company said with 300 MTN Rwanda employees, 300 vulnerable children, from nine schools will directly benefit from the campaign.Countrywide, children at this level of education do not pay school fees, and the support from MTN employees will be in terms of scholastic materials and any other needs.  ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ is an MTN Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), annual employee volunteerism initiative launched in 2006 with an aim to secure high levels of participation by the company’s staff, in social projects that highly impact local communities.As part of the programme, MTN employees across Africa and the Middle East come together in a 21 day-long campaign to roll up their sleeves in an effort to uplift communities, and give their neighbourhoods a "Y’ello” touch!"As part of the campaign, each staff member will raise funds to pay for nine basic years of education to vulnerable kids, covering items such as school uniform and stationery,” said Paul Mugemangango, the Senior Manager, Legal and Corporate Affairs, MTN Rwanda.For 21 days on a daily basis, MTN Rwanda staff members will be involved in a many activities, some of which are aimed at collecting and providing reading materials aimed at enhancing the reading culture.MTN chose the universal education theme because it is in line with the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The specific MDG target requires that by 2015, all children (male and female) are able to complete a full course of primary schooling.According to MTN Rwanda’s CEO Khaled Mikkawi, education is a powerful enabler, providing people of all ages with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to make positive decisions about their lives. As part of the 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign, colleagues across MTN operations are always looking to outdo each other on who can organise the most impactful initiative. The overall winner takes home a coveted $100,000 prize. The prize money is utilised by the winning MTN operation to fund additional community initiatives.