The 2010 FIFA World Cup People’s Bus made a stop at Sithokozise Noah Ark on 3 March 2010. What an  exciting and thrilling event.

Siphiwe Mya, the ark manager at Sithokozise, has been building partnerships to ensure that Noah is able to get coverage linked to the Soccer World Cup in order to get people talking about the plight of orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. It is so important that the world hears that not only do we have a crisis in South Africa with almost 3.7 million orphaned children, but there are communities and community based organisations that are prepared to do something about this crisis.

We so often hear the horror stories attached to orphaned and vulnerbale children, from abuse and neglect to loneliness, abandonment and loss of hope. But in reality more than 27,000 children are coming to Noah Arks around the country to receive psychological interventions, educational support, nutrition programmes and most importantly love and empathy from our team of over 500 volunteers and 800 committee members. The staff at Arks like Sithokozise are passionate about children and their efforts in relieving suffering do not go unnoticed. For this reason we are blessed and grateful to have been included on the 2010 FIFA WOrld Cup promotional tour of Durban as we celebrate South Africans and the amazing resources we have in our people.

Siphiwe Mya says “through this visit we hope to generate publicity around what we do on the ground here at Sithokozise Noah. The children will be made to feel important, that they are part of the global showpiece that is the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This will boost their morale, their confidence in life and give them the opportunity to dream.”

The bus will be travelling to over 60 communities throughout South Africa between February and June 2010 taking visitors on a thrilling, interactive journey. This campaign is designed to encourage South Africans to welcome the 2010 FIFA World Cup by flying the flag, singing the national anthem and learning the diski dance.

Children were able to climb on board, learning team facts and World Cup Trivia, play foosball football fun and watch a movie on the mini cinema that showed unforgettable moments from previous tournaments. It was an absolute treat for the children at Sithokozise Noah Ark

On a different level Siphiwe believes that “it is so important to bring the concept of Noah into the minds of the local people. This is a community programme, it is community driven and community based. We need to mobilise our communities around the Noah model and make them passionate about OVC.”

Thanks to Indigo Marketing, on behalf of Brand South Africa, and MS&L for including Sithokozise in their campaign to share the 2010 FIFA World Cup Spirit with the children and community at Sithokozise Noah Ark!

Coca Cola Flag Crew

In addition to being on the People’s Bus tour Sithokozise Noah has been nominated by our partners at ABI to be a part of the Flag Crew Team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup match between Nigeria and Korea on the 22nd of June 2010. This will provide 11 children with the opportunity to assume responsibilities learning the values of patience, persistence, concentration and hard work. In addition the children will be less than 500m away from some of the world’s most famous footballers.