How MiWay inspires with Men in the Making
How MiWay inspires with Men in the Making
While it has its own active corporate social investment programmes, short term insurance innovator MiWay is firmly behind the Men in the Making Day initiative. That’s because the company believes in the concept of inspiring teenagers to become positive agents for change in their broader circles of influence and to help more youngsters grow into responsible, caring adults.
That’s according to MiWay Head of Marketing and Brand, Nthabiseng Moloi, who notes the company launched its MiHeart Project in 2014 to improve computer literacy and ICT facilities in schools. “Through this initiative, we have formed close and special relationships with the schools where we are involved. Infusing Men in the Making Day into our project adds a direct and personal impact on the lives of the boys, their families and the communities we operate in,” she explains.
The Men in the Making Day (MIM) programme is an initiative by vehicle monitoring company Tracker. MIM identifies disadvantaged boys and provides mentorship and skills training to better equip them to become providers and contributors to society, on the one hand, while establishing solid foundations for personal successes on the other.
Decision makers from SA’s top brands pledged their commitment to MIM and invited grade 10-12 boy learners into their workplace for motivational talks, career guidance, team building and job shadowing, in a drive to provide much-needed mentorship and inspiration. Over 1000 students nationwide were inspired by the day.
MiWay selected eight boys from Moletsane High School in Soweto, at which its MiHeart Project has already transformed the Computer Centre, to participate in its contribution to MIM.
However, the company is taking its contribution to MIM further, pairing the boys with four of its senior managers who will provide ongoing mentorship and support as the youngsters work their way through Grade 12. While cognisance is taken of the demands of study, sport and general life on the time of each individual, the mentors will spend time with learners to provide insights into career fields and options, while imparting various ‘soft skills’.
“Through the contributions of our senior managers, we want this to be the best year of these boys’ lives as they grow into young men. Our hope is that in our own small way, MiWay can fire up a spark in each individual; to give a glimpse of the endless possibilities that are out there; and for some of us, who also grew up in the township, to remind them that they have the freedom to be the best they can be,” Moloi adds.
Role models such as those introduced by the MIM programme can play a crucial part in helping youngsters who don’t have a strong father figure in their lives to appreciate the value which flows from making the right choices, says Moloi. “Our participating staff members are a mirror for these boys, showing them how much is possible through hard work and the right attitude.”
Moloi says MiWay intends to award a bursary for further study to the best performer of its MIM participants. “Ultimately, initiatives like this can and do make an impact on our country, one boy at a time. By adding MIM to the MiHeart project, we’re able to focus not just on the school and the needs of the ICT department, but now also on the needs of some of the most at-risk learners,” she concludes.
MiWay is an Authorised Financial Services Provider (Licence no: 33970)
issued by, Hayley Turner, blackbook communications