MTN employees mark 10 years of volunteerism under Y’ello Care Programme

From the installation of fibre at local schools, to robotics and programming camps, and even cyber security awareness, Y’ello Care 2016 will include a vast array of projects under the banner of “Investing in education for all”.

Y’ello Care is MTN’s flagship annual employee volunteerism programme and 2016 will see MTN mark the start of the 10th edition between 1 and 21 June.

“We are very excited and proud to mark this important 10 year milestone. As an organisation, we owe a great deal of gratitude to our employees, who have ensured that this campaign continues to be a success. Owing to their dedication and selflessness, they come out in numbers every year, armed with loads of passion, a Can-Do attitude and unwavering commitment to uplift their communities,” says Chris Maroleng, Executive, Corporate Affairs, MTN Group.

“These numbers tell a compelling story of the true impact of this programme and give us further impetus to continue driving access to education, particularly through the digitisation of teaching and learning in our markets. We understand that access to education is key to helping young people to work towards becoming economically active citizens and to develop vibrant and stable societies,” adds Maroleng.

In South Sudan, MTN employees will spend time refurbishing two primary schools in Juba, as well as paint murals on the walls of the schools. In addition, the team will provide career guidance to high school learners. MTN staff will put together stationery packs for each learner and include personal messages of motivation. They will also embark on an environmental clean-up of the capital and host a competition for Juba University students. The students are required to come up with a proposal on bridging the digital divide in South Sudan. The winner will receive an internship at MTN, as well as handsets and data.

In Cyprus, the focus will be on Safer Internet Use’, in particular, educating people with special needs. MTN volunteers will be visiting schools for the deaf and blind in Cyprus, to educate students on issues regarding safety on the internet. In addition, an 85km charity cycling ride and a football game will be held to raise funds for the purchase of equipment for the deaf and blind schools of Cyprus.

In Sudan, MTN will partner with the Little Free Libraries organisation to build, install and collect books donations for 50 libraries across the country. MTNers will also establish Sudan’s first national audio library to provide free, high quality audiobooks for visually impaired students. In addition, staff will donate and install interactive white boards in two UNESCO network schools.

MTN employees in Syria will renovate the library and playground of a public school in Damascus. The school has around 800 students, and activities will include the establishment of a library and computer lab. The MTN Syria IT team will also hold telecommunications workshops for college students.

In Afghanistan, MTN employees will establish a computer lab at the ASRA orphanage, as well as engage in stationary drives and painting activities at various schools including Qala e Kashif High School, Gul Khana High School, Safiullah Afzali High School and Saeed ul Shuhada High School.

MTN Uganda’s Internet Bus Project will once again be making its way across the country, with the aim of training 3000 people. In addition, staff will set up regional ICT hubs across Uganda. They will donate computers to these hubs as well as refurbish and set up LAN connections in the facilities.

Employees of MTN Business in Kenya will dig trenches to lay down fibre networks in order to provide data connectivity to two schools – the Upper Hill Secondary School and Nairobi School.

In Rwanda, employees will embark on a project to install solar systems in rural schools. They will also construct classrooms and embark on ICT training for teachers.

In Zambia, the team will provide primary school, secondary school and special needs teachers with tools and training to enhance their ICT teaching skills. In this regard, trained facilitators will host a 1-day workshop for 110 teachers in Lusaka and Kitwe. Employees will also refurbish containers into libraries for students in these areas. MTN Zambia will also host a marathon on 18 June, in order to raise funds for computers which will be donated to identified schools.

Employees of MTN Business in Botswana will build an after-school study centre at Gakuto Primary School in Gakuto Village. Dubbed the “Visionary Centre”, and equipped with a SMART Board, the venue is aimed at providing a space for children to complete homework, have tuition sessions and be exposed to ICT. The team will also conduct a “Build a Teacher Programme” whereby teachers from the Gakuto Primary school and the Molepolole College of Education will undergo intensive training to equip them to teach in a digital era, including how to use the SMART board.

In Swaziland, students will be introduced to the world of coding, programming and robotics. They will be taught the basics of coding, algorithm, logic and the input-output process. They will further be taught how to write basic lines of code, run an EV3 program and send commands to a Leggo Mindstorm robot to execute tasks as per written code. A web-based application will also be implemented in a number of schools. The app will, among other things, allow teachers to update student information and exam scores on their mobile devices. In addition, the Swaziland team will embark on a project titled “Autistic and Wonderfully made”, which will see the computer resource centres of three schools equipped with an award-winning reading and writing software program for learners with special needs.

In South Africa, a 21km marathon will be held to raise funds for ICT in education and to establish a computer lab at Cristel House in the Western Cape. In addition, the team will hand over computer labs, Compujectors, interactive whiteboards, shoes and bicycles to a number of identified schools.

MTN staff in Guinea Bissau will engage in cleaning and painting activities at medical colleges in the village of Bafata. They will also donate computers to the school to assist with medical research.

In Ivory Coast, staff will construct six classrooms and conduct ICT training for secondary school teachers. They will also hold sessions on digital literacy for women vendors in Abidjan and teach them how to read, write, and do calculations using smartphones.

The Atouhonou Primary School will be the main beneficiary of MTN Benin’s Y’ello Care programme. Here MTNers will physically participate in the building of three classrooms. Their work will include masonry, carpentry, painting and the actual construction of the classrooms. In addition, the team will install an electrification system with solar panels to enable learners to study at the school at night.

In Ghana, MTN staff will refurbish the Mampong School for the Deaf and donate equipment including Voice to Text Software to aid teaching and learning, microphones, computers and whiteboards with projectors. Staff will engage in painting, cleaning and cabling at the school. Through a partnership with GES and DSTV, the team will also donate a TV and decoder with an educational bouquet on subjects ranging from Maths and Science to Geography, to schools in various regions of the country. In addition, they will create an educational portal for teachers, donate and install computers at various ICT centres, and host adult literacy classes.

In Nigeria, staff will set up a Learning Resource Centre in commemoration of 10th anniversary of Y’ello Care. The centre, located at the Ideal Primary School, will serve all 20 local government primary schools in Lagos State. A Train the Teacher initiative will also be conducted in Lagos and Owerri, providing an introduction to basic computer skills and general soft skills. In addition, the team will donate educational and digital learning materials to identified school libraries which cater to under-served communities.