October 27, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
MORE dreams will come true at Cida City Campus, thanks to a R3,8-million donation that will go towards funding more bursaries and its Women on the Move programme.
Sara Blakely, an American entrepreneur who herself is a rags-to-riches success story, announced the donation at the Cida student residences on Wednesday, 25 October. Cida is the Community and Individual Development Association.
Thanks to the funds, about 278 more students will be accepted into the university at a total cost of R2,3-million. The balance of the donation will be injected into the college's Women on the Move programme.
Students from the Cida City Campus sing their thanks to entrepreneur Sara Blakely for her sponsorship. Cida's founder and CEO Taddy Blecher looks on
Cida is the first virtually free tertiary institution in the country. It is based in Johannesburg and offers a three-year bachelor of business administration degree to disadvantaged students.
Blakely started a hosiery business by going from shop to shop, asking the shopkeepers to stock the footless pantyhose that she designed. Today, her business is worth more that R700-million and her products are in demand by Hollywood celebrities and housewives alike.
She was introduced to Cida Campus by Sir Richard Branson, the global business icon and founder of the Branson School of Entrepreneurship at Cida, after she won a reality TV series he hosted and got his salary of $750 000 (about R5,8-million) to fulfil her dream of starting the Sara Blakely foundation.
"This institution and all the students here are an inspiration to us," Blakely said. "I am touched by the commitment from every single person who is part of Cida and today I am the one who feels honoured to know that this donation will make a difference to a few lives."
The foundation will help young women around the world to get an education, focusing on teaching the women how to go about owning and managing their own businesses. Cida is the first recipient of a donation from the foundation.
In partnership with SA College Life and Love Life, Cida provides the four-year Women on the Move programme as an integral part of the business degree. This programme started in 2004 and enables students to become mentors and educators who work to reduce the effect of HIV/Aids in their homes and communities. Their main aim is to reach out to the children orphaned as a result of the virus and to assist families that are facing that prospect.
"Our aim is to support a new generation of young women to empower them to take control of their lives, free of HIV," Branson said. "It's in line with Madiba's legacy, the power of one to bring change … One person at a time can change the future of this country. These women serve as a bridge between the life they come from to one of new possibilities for themselves and others."
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