As part of the HOPEtober campaign 5 singers, Mortimer Williams, Craig Urban, Tshepo Ncokoane, Danelle Cronje and Lelo Ramasimingo sing from a double-decker open-top bus to the healthcare workers outside various health facilities, 22 September 2020, to acknowledge and thank them by bringing hope and joy through song while also sharing these songs of hope to patients and staff at various hospitals to bring comfort and joy. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
While South Africa is still facing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting challenges that have been faced with the country on lockdown, an initiative by Adcock Ingram OTC’s Sponsors of the Brave has led to the creation of HOPEtober.
It is a campaign to encourage South Africans to work towards restoring hope through acts of kindness as SA moves to Level 1 of lockdown. They want all citizens to be reminded that even a simple gesture of kindness such as a greeting or even a wave could brighten someone’s day.
The HOPEtober campaign is taking hope through the joy of song to healthcare workers and professionals in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, showing appreciation and care for all their efforts during the pandemic. They want to extend the message of hope to patients, staff and visitors of the hospitals they will be visiting.
The tour kicked off in Johannesburg yesterday on a double-decker open-top bus with five talented singers who performed well-known South African songs to the healthcare workers – from cleaners and receptionists to laboratory staff, nurses and doctors – to acknowledge and thank them by bringing hope and joy through song. The objective is to reach out to those in the buildings visited to hear the songs.
“We are taking songs of hope to the people at the various hospital buildings as we proudly launch HOPEtober,” said spokesperson Yudhveer Singh. Campaign ambassadors Nicole Capper (Mrs South Africa 2017, runner up Survivor SA 2019) and Derek Watts (Carte Blanche, guest speaker) shared a message of hope before introducing the singers – Mortimer Williams, Craig Urban, Tshepo Ncokoane, Danelle Cronje and Lelo Ramasimingo.
Among the songs they sang were Spirit of the Great Heart, Paradise Road, Asimbonanga and a melody of popular South African numbers from Mango Groove.
Each performance lasted about 30 minutes. Ncokoane said he was fully committed to the campaign. “It’s just a great way to remind the front-line workers during this very intense global pandemic that they are sharing the passing of the baton of hope together,” he said. The bus will head to Pretoria today and then on to Cape Town on Tuesday.
– news@citizen.co.za
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