message from CEO

Take a Girl Child to Work Day® project is what many people believe epitomizes Cell C and our commitment to being a good corporate citizen. Even if people aren’t clients of Cell C it seems all South Africans know programme. In South Africa I think, the programme is close to many hearts as the reality of gender inequality resonates with all, both female and male.

I want to thank you, our partners who heeded Cell C’s call to make all girl children our children and inspire them to be the future leaders of this country. Working together we have managed to impact the lives of approximately 350 000 girls to date and we hope for that number to keep growing.

The world has seen the great strides made by South African society to address the issue of equality with special reference to women. The extent to which we have progressed has made it possible for us to boldly declare that today is better than yesterday. But it is within our mighty hands as custodians of projects such as these, that tomorrow can be even better than today.

Upon the establishment of the initiative, some five years ago, our fervent hope was that it would play a critical developmental role in the communities instrumental to our own success. Little did we know that the campaign would have such a tremendous effect, growing into one of the country’s largest collaborative act of volunteerism.

We have in the last four years successfully mobilised your support and now as we enter the fifth year of the campaign, our focus is on taking the next step towards the delivery of concrete results in bridging the gender gap. Our theme for this year is ‘Choice Empowers’. As role models and caring citizens, it is our duty to not only educate our girl children about the choices available to them, but to actively guide them to make empowering choices that will lead them to prosperity. We call to you to join Cell C in offering girl children tangible support beyond the Day, support that will enable them to secure a better future for themselves.

The essence of the programme can be best be summed by one of the participants on the day, “The campaign showed me there are different career options for girls not just being a teacher or social worker. Some women came from a similar background to mine and they are now important women in big companies. This makes me believe I can be the same.”

To extend the reach of the campaign beyond one day and to all corners of South Africa, Cell C launched two additional Take a Girl Child to Work Day initiatives in 2007. A Girl Child Bursary Fund was established with the aim to allow companies and citizens to contribute towards further education and training for qualifying girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. To reach girl and boy learners who are unable to participate in Take a Girl Child to Work Day® because of their geographical location, Cell C launched a successful Career Choice Expo targeted at grades 9 to 12 boys and girls from rural areas. In 2007 the expo took place in seven provinces and over 6 000 learners participated.

Take a Girl Child to Work Day® has the ability to change the lives of young South African girls as it provides them with an opportunity to gain a glimpse into the corporate world. A place they one day need to step into confident of leaving their mark for others to follow.

Thank you for answering our call to action five years ago and thank you to each and everyone who helped in making Take a Girl Child to Work Day® the success that it has been thus far. I look forward to working together again on this year’s campaign.

Jeffrey Hedberg
CEO, Cell C

view our endorsement letter from the department of education