KFC Mini-Cricket Kids from Ekurhuleni take on the Proteas in the 5th Edition of the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour

The long-awaited KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour is upon us and KFC and Cricket South Africa (CSA) are proud to announce that the Proteas are ready to meet Abinala Primary School on the 19^th February 2018 at their school in Vosloorus, Gauteng. Whatever the outcome of the match, the day promises to be full of fun and excitement.

The Proteas, who have just taken on the world number 1 test team in a thrilling test series, are looking to keep their momentum going against the KFC Mini-Cricket kids but this time they will be playing away from home as the match will be hosted by the school.

Thabisa Mkhwanazi, Public Affairs Director for KFC South Africa said, “At KFC we are fully committed to the development of our country’s young cricketers. The KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour matches are always a special occasion, giving young cricketers the once in a lifetime opportunity to not only meet, but to play against their heroes. I wish the KFC Mini-Cricket kids from Abinala the best of luck in their first game and I am confident they will do us proud.”

KFC has upped the level of the KFC Mini-Cricketers’ preparations by getting both Graeme Smith and Mfuneko Ngam to resume their roles as the KFC Mini-Cricket assistant coaches. The former Proteas legends will hold a full training session with the team, where they will spend time working on the various skills that the kids will need to beat the Proteas.

Former Proteas captain, Graeme Smith, who will assist the kids with their batting and fielding skills, points out that since this year’s tournament will only consist of three matches there will be a winner and the Proteas will want to win the series.

“The Proteas cricket team play to win, so this year the team will be even better prepared than before. Mfuneko and I are up for the challenge and it is our job to make sure that natural abilities of the kids will shine through,” said Smith.

Ex Proteas fast bowler, Mfuneko Ngam, believes that KFC have taken the tour to another level with the more intensive training sessions. “In the previous years we did well with the 2-hour training sessions but this year we are taking it to another level where Graeme and I can dedicate ourselves to individual aspects of the game, and this will give the kids more personalised training. Together with KFC and CSA, we hope to enrich the kids’ natural abilities and help them enjoy their cricket even more,” said Ngam.

Historically, the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour has been a tight affair with both teams having won one tour apiece and the 2015/16 and the 2016/17 tours both ending in a 2-2 draw. 

Schools or cricket club’s KFC Mini-Cricket teams can still stand a chance to take on the Proteas in the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour, by simply dialling *120*7535# or visiting www.kfc.co.za/minicricket now to enter!

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Media Contact

Shawn Belluigi

Tel: 083 675 4338

Email: shawn@intunecom.co.za

About the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids v Proteas Tour

For the fifth year KFC will run a national competition where KFC Mini-Cricket kids will stand the chance to play against the Proteas in the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour.

Kids can enter online (www.kfcminicricket.co.za) or via USSD (*120*7535#).

The winners will be rewarded with a prize handover, a full day training session and a game against the Proteas, all assisted by KFC Min-Cricket coaches, Graeme Smith and Mfuneko Ngam.

About KFC Mini-Cricket

KFC Mini-Cricket provides a platform for kids in South Africa to have fun and get active.

KFC Mini-Cricket is the largest grassroots development sports programme in South Africa and is also an essential building block for learning cricketing basics and entrenching a love for the game. 

There are currently over 120 000 kids from over 5078 schools active in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme who are coached by nearly 9268 volunteers.

KFC has sponsored KFC Mini-Cricket since 2010 and in the 2012/13 cricket season KFC became the title sponsor of the KFC T20 Internationals and an associate sponsor of the RAM Slam T20 Challenge.

KFC has recently renewed its Mini-Cricket sponsorship for a further 10 years, taking the partnership through to 2025.

Log on to www.kfcminicricket.co.za or contact CSA at (011) 880 2810 for more info on KFC Mini-Cricket.

BIC's buy a pen donate a pen continues in 2018

#Power their Potential

https://za.bicworld.com/

BIC® donates to NGO and helps kids “Powers their Potential through the Back to School ‘Buy a pen, Donate a pen’ campaign

Millions of excited young South Africans will start their new school year this week with big hopes and dreams of a bright future. And, for the disadvantaged among them pens and Stationery items will be provided through the BIC® Buy a Pen, Donate a Pen programme, which is currently in full swing as part of BIC’s® Back to School campaign.

Parents play a key role in preparing their children for the start of the school year, and that includes ensuring they have the relevant and essential tools to be able to do their work. For many parents however, buying the necessary equipment is beyond their means, and that is where BIC® has stepped in for the last 7 years, and they will do so again in 2018.

Since 2011 the Buy a Pen, Donate a Pen programme has distributed 7.3 million pens.

Most of the Stationery is handed out to primary schools, for use in the foundation stage of learning, a critical time in terms of growth, cognitive, social, emotional and physical development.

The first nine years of children’s lives are the most formative and critical in their growth, so it is a tragedy that many children from impoverished backgrounds are missing it because they do not have access to the materials that are necessary for the correct learning to take place. BIC® has recognised this need and its Buy a Pen, Donate a Pen programme, was started in 2011, to assist in addressing this.

In 2017 one of the schools that benefitted from the programme was Eclah Educational Centre based in Newtown, Johannesburg. The 100 children at the centre’s pre-school come from disadvantaged families in Soweto, Newtown and Fordsburg. The majority of the parents don’t work and they rely on child grants to survive. 

Eclah received Stationery items from BIC®, including pens, pencils and colouring products. School principal, Edith Monareng, says the Stationery makes a huge difference to the school as they are able to run activities with the kids that they were not able to do in the past. “We can teach them drawing, colouring, painting and creative design,” she said. “These are activities that are key to unlocking their potential, and BIC® is powering their potential by enabling the educators to teach the kids with the correct tools.”

Brainwave, a non-profit organisation specialising in advising educators, has received more than

700 000 pens over the past few years from the programme. Brainwave helps educators to become child developers and not just caregivers, educating kids in English and Maths and motivating them to reach their full potential and find their rightful place in the workplace. The organisation has been operating for the past 8 years and works exclusively in the rural areas, at schools that typically have no electricity, no proper toilets, in all nine provinces of South Africa. Lanette Hatting, an educational psychologist working with qualified teachers at Brainwave, said they can never have enough pens and other Stationery, so BIC’s® Buy a Pen, Donate a Pen programme, is crucial to them. “Not having pens it is like having your hands cut off,” she said. “Nothing can be done without them. They are the key to success.” 

Ronette Kishun, BIC® Marketing Manager (Stationery), says they are proud to play a role in the improvement of education in South Africa. “Through the BIC® Buy a Pen, Donate a Pen programme, all South Africans, by purchasing a product marked with a sticker, can play a part in helping millions of kids in the rural and urban areas powering their potential,” she says.

“The campaign is continuing in 2018 and we are pleased to be able to support kids at the critical formative stage by giving Stationery to tap into and stimulate the potential that exists in each one of them and adequately prepares them for a bright future. Every year we give away over 1 million Stationery products and we are looking forward to handing over Stationery to schools like Echla and Brainwave, who works in over 200 schools each year.”

Registration opens for the 2018 Danone Nations Cup

As the new school year begins educators have the awesome responsibility of providing opportunities and experiences that will help young people to develop their whole personality and character, and school sport is an acceptable medium to do this through. 

Sponsorships such as the Danone Nations cup, a soccer tournament for kids between the ages of 10 and 12, play a vital educational role in developing kids because they provide a way for schools to teach valuable life lessons in a fun way, by keeping kids active.

“Every year, through our competition, we touch the lives of over 2.3 million kids around the world and since its inception in 2000 over 35 million kids have played in our competition making it the biggest tournament of its kind in the world,” said Chantel Ehlers, Communication Manager, Danone Southern Africa.  “We are proud of these statistics and locally we are pleased with the fact that South Africa has managed to win the world finals 3 times (2003, 2007 and 2009).”

Schools use sports such as soccer to teach children how to think laterally; to solve problems; the importance of teamwork and trust; how to handle defeat and to bounce back and keep going with confidence. 

In 2017 over 2 700 schools, ranging from rural and farm schools, to elite private institutions, registered for the South African leg of the Danone Nations Cup.  With entries expected to come in at a fast pace this week, the organisers are hoping to grow this to over 3 000 this year.

Youth development coaching is specialised as it is at this age that kids want to learn. It’s vital that young players perfect their skills without picking up bad habits and these kids dream big.

In South Africa the majority of coaches at this level are generally teachers, who don’t always have the necessary experience and qualifications. Many of these coaches rely on the internet for advice and information and, to help them, Groupe Danone has put every game played on the final day of the Danone Nations Cup world finals last year, which took place in New York, onto Youtube so that coaches can access them. They can upskill through watching what happened last year. 

Danone takes the educational role it plays very seriously. “There are many facets to the Danone Nations Cup,” explains Ehlers, “Groupe Danone has built the tournament on four fundamental pillars: fair play, openness, accessibility and passion for the game and uses football as an important platform to bring health through sport to as many kids as possible. We promote healthy eating habits and encourage the youth to believe in their dreams.”

Many of the teams that participate in the competition’s World Finals each year are drawn from football programmes that operate in distressed areas and from social development initiatives that use football as a vehicle to uplift young people.

“Many of the schools that have gone on to compete in world finals have done so against all odds,” Ehlers says. “It’s a life-changing experience. Players come back better footballers due to watching how other countries play and learn from them. They meet and make friends from all around the world.” 

Schools can register for the competition by contacting the national coordinator at the SA Schools Football Association (SASFA), Themba Tshabalala, on 011 403 2844, 084 290 0602 or 072 588 4957. Alternatively, they can visit the Danone Nations Cup South Africa Facebook page or go to www.facebook.com/dncsouthafrica to download the necessary documents. (Documents are also on Danone.co.za )

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