The Volkswagen Touareg Sabbatical Initiative asked South Africans to share their ideas of how they would put the luxury of time to good use, with a sabbatical dedicated to making a difference. An impressive 1 380 plans were submitted by fans of the brand – but only one of these applicants were promised the opportunity to turn their idea into a reality.
In an announcement interview hosted by broadcaster Bruce Whitfield, Johannesburg-based Dr Rufaro Nyamuda was announced as the successful applicant of the campaign. Her business idea was reviewed by a panel of industry experts, including Volkswagen’s Marketing and Communications Manager Meredith Kelly and Ogilvy’s Creative Director Mike Martin, and deemed to have the potential to be “extraordinarily impactful to communities”.
Speaking about Dr Nyamuda’s entry, Volkswagen’s Head of Communications, Andile Dlamini, said: “The standard of the ideas submitted to our Volkswagen Touareg Sabbatical campaign have been exceptional. The variety of ideas that we received made it a very difficult task to select one recipient to receive funding. However, Nyamuda’s plan has the potential to make a significant social impact, and that is what we were hoping for when we began this journey.”
As part of this major national campaign, the public were incentivised with a paid-for three month sabbatical and invited to send in ideas that could make a valuable contribution to the country, but that may have been put on the backburner due to time and money constraints.
Dr Rufaro Nyamuda’s vision – to devise a comprehensive and robust healthcare management and educational platform, which promotes the optimal medical support of children from Grade 0 to Grade 12 – resonated with panellists as a worthy contender for funding.
Dr Nyamuda commented: “There is an urgent need for change in the way we manage schools’ healthcare policies, which are well overdue for an upgrade and digital transformation. My solution is to create CEBISA (meaning ‘one who gives advice’ in Xhosa), which is a modern-day healthcare tool. CEBISA is intelligently designed as a ‘digital school nurse’ and promotes a healthy school environment by providing easily accessible resources to improve preventative care, manage chronic conditions and provide basic primary healthcare services. It allows parents and guardians, as well as school staff and students, access to a structured e-learning portal.”
“To be able to turn my dream into a reality is a tremendous opportunity – one that would not be possible without the support of the Volkswagen Touareg Sabbatical campaign. To be recognised as someone who can make a real difference to society is a huge accolade of which I am very proud,” added Dr Nyamuda.
Provided by Volkswagen SA
