Johannesburg, 1 July 2021: MultiChoice Group invested R6 million into much-needed renovations at four rural primary schools to commemorate South Africa’s former statesman Nelson Mandela, fulfilling the needs of his foremost passions – children and education.
Called the Madiba Do Up, the project was initiated in 2018 in celebration of Mandela’s centenary and focused on addressing key needs at two schools in Limpopo and two in the Eastern Cape. The result was the construction of additional classrooms, installing media centres with Wi-Fi connectivity, and improving ablution facilities and sporting infrastructure, including the provision of a multi-purpose sports field at each school.
Based on a needs’ assessment in support of the Department of Basic Education’s School Infrastructure Programme, pupils from selected schools participated in an arts and culture competition commemorating the life of Nelson Mandela for the sought-after prize of a school makeover.
To promote this initiative, Africa’s most-loved storyteller will broadcast a special edition documentary titled The Madiba Do Up, produced by black-owned production company Passion Lane Productions – a beneficiary of the MultiChoice Innovation Fund. Turning away from the regular style of CSI documentary shows, The Madiba Do Up will share the story of the four schools in a TV makeover format, unpacking the selection criteria and transformations undertaken at each school, as well as looking at the impact this has made on the respective communities.
“We collaborated with various partners to refurbish the four schools as part of the Madiba Do Up project, and the results we have achieved are testament to what can be done through effective public-private partnerships. In the words of Madiba: ‘Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world’, and at MultiChoice we understand that by giving back to the communities in which we operate, we continue to enrich lives and help shape our future leaders,” says Collen Dlamini Head of Corporate Affairs at MultiChoice South Africa.
The Madiba Do Up is just one of the many ways MultiChoice is empowering young entrepreneurs and creatives in the video entertainment industry to tell authentic African stories. The documentary will air on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) on Thursday, 1 July at 9pm.
