Bakwena’s programmes have a meaningful impact on the many aspects of the lives of people in communities around the routes that we operate in. We are committed to their road safety and well-being, but we also focus on other initiatives that will bring about positive change in their day-to-day lives that will deliver long-term benefits.
Bakwena believes that we have the responsibility as a business not only to build, maintain and operate effective freeways but also to improve the lives of the people along these routes. This would not be successfully achieved without the support and buy-in of our valued stakeholders and partners.
An example of one such partnership is with HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Bakwena’s Disaster Management Teams and Drama pioneers have played a vital role in their communities by providing education and support to community members on COVID-19 preventative measures, social distancing, assistance to schools with daily temperature and health checks as well as contacts tracing.
Without the assistance of a smartphone, these teams would not have been able to capture and record important data which assists not only the team in terms of numbers reach from an educational perspective but also the Department of Health with critical details of positive community members for monitoring and contacts tracing.
Thanks to the generous donation from HMD Global, who made available to our teams 15 Nokia smartphones thereby ensuring the success of our teams, who are now able to record the data properly and accurately using the Covid-19 Volunteer Management app developed by Bakwena’s CSI Service Provider, CapaSity, for this purpose. The app is used to record information of all volunteer groups and the Covid-19 related activities they participate in along the Bakwena N1N4 route. The app records the number, type and location of activities and the number of people who have been assisted through Bakwena’s Covid-19 initiatives. It keeps track of resources used by the various volunteer groups. Attendance registers and photographs of activities can also be uploaded via the app.
CapaSity has already trained team leaders on the app in Hammanskraal and is rolling out further training in Bapong, Majakaneng, Swartruggens, Groot Marico and Dinokana area. The team leaders of each group have been presented with a Nokia smartphone. Bakwena is providing the monthly data to enable them to upload the information on the app. Making use of smartphones in conjunction with the volunteer management app shortens the reporting process. Team leaders also use WhatsApp to communicate logistics with other team members and send reports to relevant stakeholders.
“Our mission is to make mobile technology accessible to everyone, so we are thrilled that our smartphones are able to provide support to the Bakwena team during these unprecedented times to help make a difference in the lives of their community volunteers by enabling them to have a meaningful impact on the communities which they work in,” says Shaun Durandt, GM for Southern Africa at HMD Global.
“These volunteers are playing a vital role in their communities. Their positive attitude and enthusiasm in responding to this pandemic are both inspiring and humbling. We have no doubt their commitment is making a huge difference to the lives of members living in these communities” says Solomon Kganyago, Commercial Manager for Bakwena.
