Cape Town, South Africa, September 3, 2012 – The Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (SHAWCO) in collaboration with Dell recently, hosted an annual community fun day in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, for the children enrolled in SHAWCO’s programme. This is an annual event hosted by SHAWCO, however as SHAWCO is a beneficiary of the Dell Powering the Possible programme, Dell came on board to treat over 300 children to circus acts, delicious treats, jumping castles and sporting events. Each child received a lunch pack, a Dell branded peak cap and as much candy-floss as their stomachs could handle.
According to Natasha Reuben, head of transformation at Dell, “Dell South Africa is proud to be associated with SHAWCO and their objective of educating students, teachers and the communities within South Africa. Whilst this fun Day is an annual event, Dell wanted to participate so that SHAWCO could expand on the occasion, to try new ideas, enabling students and staff to come together as a community.”
Earlier this year, Dell invested approximately R600 000 towards the revamp of the infrastructure of two Dell/ ICT labs at SHAWCO, providing state-of -the -art hardware such as new computers (30 for each lab), two servers and two projectors with smart boards, new furniture and fittings. The labs are accessible to the local small businesses and school students in the surrounding communities to provide basic internet services, software programs and social media platforms to ensure growth in enterprise development and education, reaching approximately 600 people.”
Jonathan, a volunteer at SHAWCO said, “Ideally given the economic reality in which all NGO’s currently operate; SHAWCO should not be dependent on donor funds to render services. Equally so, funders should look for, and encourage sustainability and continuity in the services given by NGO’s. The SHAWCO Dell day is a great example of a funders’ involvement enabling SHAWCO to improve and expand existing operations. We hope to continue this extremely productive partnership with Dell.”
About Dell South Africa Development Fund
The Dell South Africa Development Fund was founded based on Dell South Africa’s belief that by improving social conditions it can improve business conditions. The Fund uses technology to provide training and develop human resources and thereby strives to bridge the digital divide. Education, enterprise development and health, in particular HIV/AIDS, are the main focus areas of the Dell Development Fund. For more information visit http://www.delldevelopmentfund.co.za
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