SOS Africa Partnership with Jewel Fire Systems

Jewel Fire Systems is launching a partnership with UK charity SOS Africa, helping to support the charity, which enables disadvantaged children in South Africa to attend school, by funding their first office which is opening in Shepton Mallet in August.

Co-founder of SOS Africa, Matt Crowcombe, first visited South Africa on his gap year in 2003 where he was teaching A-Level Technology. The school he was working at was relatively well-off, but a teacher at the school showed Matt around the area and he began to understand the extent of the poverty in the local township. Matt and Henry, the local teacher, decided to help a child from a particularly deprived family with the costs of education that his family would not otherwise have been able to meet. Between the two of them, Matt and Henry paid for Thabo's school fees, travel and uniform expenses to attend Mafikeng Primary School.

Since then, the charity has developed to a point whereby it is currently funding 12 children at school through the SOS Africa programme. Each child receives full school tuition, aftercare support, swimming lessons and is provided with all uniform and equipment, transportation and mentor support.

Through hard work and dedication, Matt hopes to increase the number of pupils supported by SOS Africa and to help those that are under-privileged gain the education and future prospects that they so desperately deserve. With the help of Jewel Fire Systems, Matt's hopes for brighter futures for the children of SOS Africa are closer than ever to being realised.

Nick Link, Managing Director of Jewel Fire Systems, is originally from South Africa and was particularly enthusiastic about helping a charity in the country in which he grew up. To support SOS Africa, as well as funding their first UK office, Jewel Fire Systems is also helping to raise awareness of SOS Africa both in the UK and abroad.
Nick Link comments: "We are delighted to be partnering SOS Africa, not only to support the great work they do already but also the vision they have to develop the programme in the future. SOS Africa's visibility has never been greater and it is an exciting time to be involved with them. We hope the partnership will be beneficial for SOS Africa and the help from Jewel Fire Systems will dramatically increase the number of children who receive an education and an improved standard of living from them and their families through the SOS Africa programme".

Founder of SOS Africa, Matt Crowcombe, comments: "SOS Africa is a grassroots, volunteer-run charity which has benefited from a wide range of local, national and international support over the years. Thanks to this exciting new partnership with Jewel Fire Systems, we now believe that there is no limit to the amount of underprivileged children we can support in the future".

SOS Africa's motto is a Nelson Mandela quote which effectively reflects their ethos; "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"