| CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA-(26-12-2005) 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 lessons, and since this is such a special time of the year,
we thought it would be 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.
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