Johannesburg, 30 Mar 2011
HP has announced the investment of R1 million into six non-governmental organisations (NGO) in South Africa.
The investment is in line with the company's paradigm shift from philanthropy to social innovation by making a difference to organisations through IT services.
HP aims to apply its assets in all its social initiatives - technology, expertise, partnerships, global reach and scale - to four focus areas, namely; education, health, community involvement and entrepreneurship.
“HP is applying technology in groundbreaking ways to create opportunities, spark change and improve lives. Our efforts are helping to strengthen education and healthcare for underserved communities,” says Frank van Rees, MD and Enterprise Business Lead, HP South Africa.
“We are always looking to use creative ways to make a difference, by not necessarily giving money, but to share our most valuable asset, our expertise, with those in need,” he adds.
HP invested money into the following NGOs, all of which have a focus on education, health or empowerment:
* mothers2mothers
* Childline
* South African Educations and Environment Project (SAEP)
* Little Oaks Children's Home
* Mother of Peace
* Zwelonke Women's Group
HP's flagship collaboration, mothers2mothers, is an NGO that helps prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV through an effective and sustainable model of care that supports mother and child health. The organisation has used the money to strengthen its programmes in training its Mentor Mothers and provide its clients with current information regarding treatment guidelines, feeding options, general well-being during pregnancy, and most importantly, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.
“Donations of any size mean a lot to mothers2mothers, without them we would be unable to continue the work that we do to help create an HIV-free generation. These donations also confirm that the greater public as well as large corporations value the work we do and acknowledge the importance of providing psychosocial support and education for women living with HIV - medicine alone does not equal medical care,” says Sarah Demian, Communications Officer, mothers2mothers.
Generally speaking, the health sector significantly lags compared to other industries in the leverage of information technology. HP is addressing these challenges in its social innovation approach to health.
“The company's goal is to drive structural, systemic improvements in health access and delivery at the system level that will have a significant and sustainable impact,” adds Van Rees.
“HP also believes that education is the keystone to social progress and prosperity. We partner with organisations on programmes that promote collaboration and drive innovation in education through innovative uses of technology. We are working to give educators, students and young entrepreneurs the knowledge and skills to address urgent challenges in their communities and around the world,” he says.
Another important aspect to HP's social innovation is the human factor - every HP employee is encouraged to engage with the community. The company has plans in place to increase employee involvement within the corporate social environment. The South African rollout of this programme is expected to take place in April 2011.
“We are planning to build voluntary programmes for all of the charities we are involved with and to offer pro-bono services to them through our expertise, solutions and consulting,” concludes Van Rees.
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