| South Africa. “movistar” team to contribute dinghy to Izivunguvungu Foundation |
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| Tuesday, 27 December 2005 | |
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Ana Garcia: The “movistar” team informed the Shosholoza that it will contribute to the cause of the Izivunguvungu Foundation, a sailing school for poor South African children promoted by Mediterranean Shipping Company, sponsor of the America’s Cup South African team. “The work of the Izivunguvungu Foundation is fantastic –says Pedro Campos, General Manager of the “movistar”–. Thanks to them, hundreds of children who would have not had the chance of knowing a boat otherwise, will discover the sea and enjoy the magic of sailing”. The Spanish Round the World Race team will finance the construction of one of the dinghies that the kids will use in their sailing lessons at school. “There is a direct relation between the sailing schools “movistar” sponsors in Valencia and Sanxenxo, and this Shosholoza project” says “movistar” skipper Bouwe Bekking “In both cases, it’s the youngest ones who get their first sailing essons, and since this is such a special time of the year, we thought it would be a good Christmas present for the children of the Foundation”. At Izivunguvungu, the students themselves participate in the construction of boats, as Bekking says: “One of the things we like most about this project is the fact that it’s the kids themselves who participate in the construction of boats, and this helps them to be involved from the start of the project until the time they sail in their own boats”. Captain Salvatore Sarno, President of Mediterranean Shipping Company, the sponsoring company of the Izivunguvungu Foundation, acknowledged this nice gesture of the Spanish team: “It is a great pleasure for me to see that our Volvo Ocean Race colleagues, and especially the “movistar” team, share with us the idea that sailing can be a source of motivation and inspiration for the education of children. This represents a splendid recognition of the objectives of Izivunguvungu”. 300 children every year The Izivunguvungu Foundation is the product of an original idea from Ian Ainslie, skipper of the Shosholoza, who in 2001 started to work on his idea of teaching poor children the values of sailing. What started as an idea is today a school that opens six days a week and teaches nearly 300 children every year at Simon’s Town, in the Cape Peninsula. Every week, nearly 100 children of ages between 8 and 18 attend classes given by the school monitors, and every Friday they compete with each other; the best are selected to compete in provincial and national races. By means of Izivunguvungu, Ian Ainslie has the challenge of selecting and training pupils to join the Shosholoza team. Currently one of the members of the crew of the South African America’s Cup syndicate is a former pupil of Ainslie’s, Marcello Burricks. 57,875 kilometres – of race. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 26 December 2005 ) |
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