Michael Wyatt, managing director at Bata South Africa, explained: “One of the main pillars in our purpose strategy is to engage in meaningful partnerships with brands who share our values and equally aim to make a difference in the lives of people who need our assistance the most. Whether it’s donating shoes, building new schools and classrooms, or running support initiatives throughout the year, Bata believes strongly in working together, and in tackling global concerns locally, to create a brighter future, today.”
“This is why we are so excited about our collaboration with banking giant, Standard Bank, in their goal this year to put shoes on the feet of over 7 million South African children who do not have this essential item. This partnership aligns perfectly with our own Bata Children’s Programme (BCP), which has been running since 2010 and strives to alleviate the burden on disadvantaged school children,” he added.
Through the collaboration, Bata - which produces South Africa’s best loved school shoe, Toughees - and Standard Bank aim to raise as much awareness and donations as possible by highlighting the plight of children forced to walk long distances barefoot to get to school daily.
Wyatt called on South Africans who have the means to do so, to support the programme this year.
“We invite you to join us in our efforts to address the plight of vulnerable children and to assist those from disadvantaged backgrounds with school shoes, because together, we can go further!” he said.
Simply visit https://bit.ly/3EhNzd2 to support the cause.
Kicking off their mission at the start of the year, Bata and Standard Bank’s Tutuwa Community Foundation joined forces with Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) to donate school shoes to an Eastern Cape no-fee school.
One hundred and thirty five (135) pairs of school shoes were handed over to Khutliso Daniels Secondary School in Makhanda, Eastern Cape in January. This no-fee institution, with almost 100% of parents living on a government grant, faces the ongoing challenge of learners not having access to good quality school shoes.
School principal, Radio Mcuba, said the donation of school shoes would greatly benefit learners. “This is a wonderful response from Standard Bank, Bata and Rhodes University to give back to these poor learners. Our school is on a positive trajectory, having improved our matric results from 55% three years ago to an 89.9% pass rate, and this donation will add to that. These shoes will help us curb absenteeism, especially in winter, when some learners do not attend school on some days because they have no shoes to protect their feet from the cold. We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the stakeholders involved.”
