BUSINESS JOINS CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHILD ABUSE
Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Location-based mobile services firm Cellfind has entered into a partnership with Women & Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) aimed at taking the pioneering group's anti-abuse message to grassroots communities nationwide.

Cellfind today pledged its support for WMACA at a star-studded cocktail lunch at Moyo Zoo Lake where WMACA representatives challenged the media and guests to likewise pledge their support for an end to the cycle of violence.

The relationship between the two organisations has found initial expression in Cellfind's support of WMACA which includes sponsoring a national awareness campaign and roadshow.

Featuring mega-artists of the calibre of Zola, Mafikizolo, Skwatta Kamp and Jozi, the primarily male performers are intended to be the positive male role models and voices sorely lacking in many communities across South Africa.

According to WMACA's Miranda Friedmann, "A recent life skills workshop held in Alexandra found that 32% of teenagers either had no positive father role model or had an abusive one.”

Cellfind's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Niel Barnard commented, "The partnership between WMACA and Cellfind is particularly synergistic. Cellfind provides access to location-based mobile services to enhance personal safety and provide peace of mind.”

Cellfind's Look4me service tracks the location of consenting cellphone users while Look4help turns one's cellphone into a mobile panic button simply by saving the Look4help panic number as a speed dial. This enables a distress SMS including your location to be sent to four other cellphones. To subscribe to Look4me, SMS the word REGISTER to 31888. To subscribe to Look4help, SMS the word HELP to 31888.

WMACA is close to mounting a national awareness campaign to get men, women and teenagers across the country to realise that child abuse results in a cycle that keeps communities violent. "When children witness domestic violence we see boys using violence as a means to resolve conflict and girls accepting violence as part of a relationship,” says Friedmann.

The purpose of the roadshow is a massive community awareness drive called ‘Vusani Isimilo' or ‘raise your consciousness'. "We'll address issues like domestic violence and alcohol abuse and show men that they have a choice to either create more violence and misery, or respect themselves and protect those who need it most. We're thrilled to have Cellfind's generous support,” added Friedmann.

The market leader in location-based services in South Africa, Cellfind offers a wide range of active and passive products that are your voice when you have no voice in an emergency. In addition to other applications, Cellfind's suite of location-based services allows corporate and individual subscribers to determine the general location of consenting mobile phone users, whether they are prepaid or contract customers. Business use includes field staff monitoring but by far the greatest use of the service is for emergencies and tracking the whereabouts of consenting mobile phone users.

Cellfind is a member of Blue Label Investments, a vast and pioneering telecommunications services group.

Over the past six years Blue Label Investments has grown to a multinational group operating in 11 countries with its core focus on prepaid telephony. Noting projections of 1.5 billion prepaid users worldwide by 2010, Blue Label is also investing heavily in transaction switching, virtual banking, prepaid insurance and television. The company is now one of the biggest wholesalers of prepaid airtime in South Africa through its subsidiary The Prepaid Company.

Issued by: Paula Levin
Reliable Sources PR
paula@reliablesources.co.za
Cell: 082 968 7286

On behalf of: Niel Barnard
CEO, Cellfind
On behalf of: Miranda Friedmann
Director, WMACA