Other Volkswagen AG Board of Management members, including the chair of Volkswagen Group South Africa, Prof Dr Jochem Heizmann, Volkswagen AG board member responsible for HR and Organisation, Dr Horst Neumann and chair of the Works Council, Bernd Osterloh, accompanied Prof Dr Winterkorn.
"The Group has been deliberating over how we could leave a Legacy in South Africa during this all-important year. We have decided to invest in the community of Uitenhage - its home for the past 59 years," said Prof Dr Winterkorn.
He announced that Volkswagen AG would establish the 20th Love Life Youth Centre in South Africa. "Love Life - South Africa's national HIV prevention initiative for young people, became an obvious choice.
"This R20 million centre will be situated in the Uitenhage area and will include facilities such as a computer room, clinic, counselling rooms, library, sporting and recreational facilities and a community radio station. As soon as a suitable site is identified and agreed upon by all stakeholders, design and planning will commence," he said.
The R20 million investment will cover both the construction and the running costs of the centre for four years. "We hope by then that the project will be well established and sustainable into the future. More importantly, we hope it will provide the youth of the Uitenhage area a much-needed facility to ensure their well-being and personal growth," concluded Winterkorn.
Also in attendance were Volkswagen Group South Africa MD, David Powels, members of the company's shop steward council, Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor, Zanuxolo Wayile, Love Life officials, local ward councillors and community representatives from Uitenhage.
On the same day, Powels, announced the commencement of the construction of a R4.5 million pre-primary school in KwaLanga, Uitenhage and was joined by the guests of honour for the event.
Speaking at the site of the new pre-school in KwaLanga, he said, "The Volkswagen Community Trust recognised the need for a new pre-school in KwaLanga capable of accommodating up to 100 children. After intensive community stakeholder consultation, an appropriate site was identified and the land contributed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality."
The Volkswagen Community Trust contributed R3.6 million towards the project and a further R900 000 was raised by the company employees through the initiative "One hour for the Future."
This campaign was initiated by the workforce to raise funds for Aids orphans and vulnerable children in countries home to Volkswagen factories across the globe. The campaign involves the donation of one hour of every employee's salary or wage per month. These generous donations have resulted in millions of Euro's being raised and spent on children's projects in Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa. In total over R15 million has been donated to South African projects since the campaign's inception in 1999.
Three buses, 500 trainers, 200 schools and more than 40 000 youngsters form part of the collaborative project involving Volkswagen Group South Africa, the German Association for Technical Co-Operation (GTZ), and the "A Chance to Play" (ACTP) social programme initiated by the VW Global Group Works Council. The aim of the initiative is to combine sports and health education (chiefly on HIV/AIDS prevention) for underprivileged boys and girls in the Eastern Cape.
Osterloh underscored the significance of the long-term commitment, saying "Our 'A Chance to Play' programme was launched two years ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and it will continue to offer boys and girls better sports and recreation options long after this event is over. The Soccer Bus is an important element in our pursuit to achieve sustainability for our projects, the principle aim of which is to provide children with life skills and empowerment."
"The buses allow our partners in the Eastern Cape to extend their youth-development activities to remote rural communities," explained the CEO of GTZ in South Africa, Peter Conze. The Youth Development through Football project is run by GTZ on behalf of the German Federal Government and the European Union. The project is now active in four provinces of South Africa and nine other African countries. The objective of the YDF project is to use the medium of football to teach young people life skills.
The Soccer Buses will be touring schools, mostly in rural districts. The trained teams on board will conduct football coaching events for boys and girls. These events will also be used as a platform from which to impart educational content. The programme is currently scheduled to run until 2012. The sports components will be supplemented by learning content on themes such as HIV/AIDS prevention, violence prevention and social-competence building. HIV/AIDS is a major concern in the Eastern Cape, where in some areas more than 20% of the population is infected with the virus.
