Security-solutions provider Gunnebo will be sponsoring a high school in KwaZulu-Natal for the next three years – by paying for an added educational programme aiming to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS among youth there.
Students at Khombindlela High School, in a township near Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, are now, thanks to the sponsorship, enrolled in the ‘Star for Life’ programme. Running alongside the normal curriculum at the school, the programme teaches HIV/AIDS prevention and encourages students to dream with hope about their futures – regardless of their (HIV) status. Today, almost 40% of pregnant women in this province are HIV positive (UNAids).
The Star for Life curriculum is designed to counteract that trend by bolstering the individual’s self confidence and self reliance, while also providing a sense of group belonging.
Robert Hermans, who heads up Gunnebo in South Africa, says he is very pleased that Gunnebo will be sponsoring the programme at the school. “It is a very worthy cause,” he says. “Our customers will be happy to know that Gunnebo is assisting the children of Empangeni township towards a better life in the future, and thereby also contributing toward our Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) responsibilities.”
Gunnebo’s R230 000 per-year sponsorship, for the next three years, will take the programme through its start-up phase at Khombindlela High School. After that, the programme will be self-sufficient as educators will then have been fully trained, and the programme a fully-integrated part of the curriculum.
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