Africa-Press – Eswatini. SINCE 2019, MTN Bushfire has directed its support to Young Heroes.
To date, the festival has contributed over E2 million to Young Heroes and this was revealed by the Festival’s Creative Director Jiggs Thorne yesterday through a press statement.
The very first MTN Bushfire festival in 2007 was envisioned as a platform to showcase local artists and as a way to raise funds for Young Heroes, who have remained a festival beneficiary ever since.
Young Heroes supports youth orphaned by HIV/Aids and the families that have taken them in, through cash grants, food hampers, and skills training and, over the last two years, with COVID-19-safety education as well as health and hygiene supplies.
“MTN Bushfire is more than just a music festival, it is an expression of social consciousness and an engine for local community development. “We see the festival as a way to provide opportunities for Emaswati to grow and thrive, as artists, festival staff and traders.
“MTN Bushfire’s relationships with the wider community of Lobamba Lomdzala is very important to us and to this end, we not only consciously integrate the community into the festival but also have now launched the Malandela’s Legacy Fund to contribute directly to community development projects in the constituency that the festival is in, as part of our ‘Bring Your Fire’ social mandate,” said Thorne.
‘Bring Your Fire’, according to the festival, is MTN Bushfire’s inspiring call to action that encourages the proactive contribution of the individual towards addressing pertinent social and environmental issues. ‘Your Fire’ is your energy, your spirit, your passion, and your drive to make a tangible difference.
The other major festival beneficiary, boMake Rural Projects, seeks to empower rural communities through supporting women artisans and providing clean water. Over 700 women artisans and their families are benefited by boMake’s efforts, and over 20 000 people now have access to water from boreholes instead of rivers.
Over E1 million has been raised for boMake Rural Projects since 2010 through MTN Bushfire’s merchandise sales. Lasts Friday, the brains behind the festival, Jiggs, Sholto, Roland and Nandi Thorne launched The Malandela’s Legacy Fund to honour their parents Peter ‘Malandela’ Thorne and Jenny Thorne.
It honours their lifelong commitment to their guiding philosophy that people and businesses should be actively involved in the communities they live in. “This ethos forms the core of the Bring Your Fire philosophy of MTN Bushfire.
Among many other achievements, they founded Malandela’s Restaurant, now the centre of a lifestyle hub that attracts thousands of visitors to the area, as well as Gone Rural, founded by Jenny Thorne, which today provides employment and marketing opportunities all over the world for the 700 women artisans who make and design the basketwork they are famous for,” Thorne said.
In their memory, the Malandela’s Legacy Fund will donate E40 000 annually to community development projects in Lobamba Lomdzala, and a committee will be set up by key members of the community to decide how the funds will be spent.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
