The campaign, in its 13th year, is aimed at encouraging young girls to dream by exposing them to the corporate world and the various opportunities available to them.
Present at the launch was Minister in the Presidency for Women, Susan Shabangu, who stressed the importance of giving young girls such opportunities.
“I believe [the] initiative to inspire girl pupils forms a key foundation in helping empower women in our society [because] choosing a career after leaving school is one of life’s major decisions,” she said.
“The struggle of one girl child anywhere in the world is a struggle for all of us and we must play our part in developing these girls.”
Shabangu praised the efforts of Cell C in assisting young girls to make decisions about their future careers, adding that it was often not an easy decision to make.
Cell C chief executive officer, Jose Dos Santos, also weighed in, saying that the company was focused on “positive ways to support women in South Africa and the … programme provides a platform to make those dreams come true”.
He added that it was important to make women empowerment a priority, and said it was key to the success of the country.
Indeed, Suzette van der Merwe, executive: commercial communications for Cell C, lauded the involvement and commitment of corporates with such an initiative and stressed the power they had to transform lives.
“We have the power as corporates to change someone’s life simply by opening up doors for them,” she said.
She also explained the significance of the campaign of having the theme of ‘fairy godmothers’ this year, saying it was symbolic of helping girls to dream. This year’s fairy godmothers were Sophie Ndaba, Miss South Africa 2015 Liesl Laurie and Brenda Kali.
The Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day is targeted at Grade 10 to 12 South African female pupils and provides them with the opportunity to visit a place of work and to experience the various career opportunities available to them.
The media launch took place at Sandown High School on 6 May.
The initiative will take place on 28 May across the country and companies interested in hosting a group of girls can register online at www.cellc.co.za/girlchild
