Bupa colleagues share their Bupa stories | Wednesday,23 Jun 2010

This month we feature an article written by Michelle Elmore who is our Brighton based Bupa International Senior Corporate Consultant. With the eyes of the world on South Africa Michelle reveals how a project in one of the country's most impoverished areas is raising awareness of our brand.

My role with Bupa International has taken me to South Africa eight times in the last four years. I am always struck by the countries magnificence and diversity. When you drive through Johannesburg you get a sense of the cosmopolitan, bustling city with modern office blocks and shopping malls. Journey out of the centre and you appreciate the chasm between wealth and poverty that characterises the nation.

I am working to develop products and services for expatriates in South Africa and our growing presence there is providing an excellent opportunity to make a difference in one of its poorest communities. With the assistance of our broker, we identified the Phakamisami primary school, in the township of Kwanokuthula, where the average family income is £30 per month. The school has 1,300 pupils with an average class size of 120. Youth unemployment is high, at around 40%, and most pupils leave school without ever having used a computer. As a result, we launched a project to build a Bupa IT laboratory, which  will be  opened to coincide with the 2010 World Cup.

As in many townships, there is a high crime rate in Kwanokuthula. Due to the risk of break-ins, the Bupa computer room is being built in a customised sea freight container, with windows and air conditioning, that has been painted 'Bupa blue'.

We are equipping it with branded stationary, such as pens and mouse mats, and hope to deliver the project at a cost of around £8,000.

To kick off the fundraising, I took part in the Reading Half Marathon and my daughter's primary school held and African-themed sports day, which included the 50-metre 'cheetah dash'  and I shall be attempting my first triathlon on Saturday 3 July the day before my birthday .

Bupa has an exciting future in South Africa and, by raising awareness of our brand in such a positive way, we can really become part of the community.

If you would like to make a donation towards Michelle's project, please get in touch at michelle.elmore@bupa-intl.com