Cape Town – BIC, a global leader in stationery, has unveiled its latest partnership with Mpumelelo Mhlongo, one of South Africa’s most anticipated Paralympians, ahead of the Paris 2024 games.
The collaboration is rooted in BIC’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, “Together We Can Write the Future”, which aims to tackle South Africa’s high school dropout rate, currently standing at a concerning 41%.
Mhlongo has represented South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games, where he broke the T44 200m World Record and set the T44 200m, 100m, and long jump Paralympic Games
Born with a congenital deformity, constriction ring syndrome, and club foot in Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal, grew up in Klaarwater, South Africa.
He attended Kloof High School and later Kearsney College, receiving the Edwin Henwood Trophy during matriculation.
At the University of Cape Town, he excelled in chemical engineering, earning regular Dean’s Merit list placements and winning Sportsperson of the Year five consecutive times.
Currently pursuing a doctorate in converting plastic waste into energy at UCT, Mhlongo is fluent in Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, English, French, and Portuguese.
BIC said that the partnership with Mhlongo underscores the shared values of resilience and empowerment, adding that his inspirational journey, overcoming challenges to excel in athletics, resonates deeply with BIC’s mission to support education and provide essential resources to students in need.
Director of Marketing Southern and East Africa at BIC Lilian Henderson said: “Mhlongo’s story is inspiring. It is a reason to believe that you can thrive in any environment if the right resources are attainable. As a brand committed to education, we believe that change starts with ‘one’.
“An individual that believes in you, a teacher that supports you, an organization that funds you, a parent that encourages you. Our nation-wide initiative Buy a Pen Donate a Pen and our partnership with Mhlongo are a testament to that.”
Enthusiasm
Mhlongo expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “As a South African child who needed a cheerleader, I understand the difference that the support of a community can make. Someone took a chance on me and that completely changed the course of my life. My partnership embodies my experience. I would love to be for our children today, the person I needed to have as a child, and I am touched to collaborate with brands that understand the meaning of that to the future of our society. I look forward to this collaboration and to visiting students at the various school activations led by BIC.”
Since 2012, BIC’s Buy a Pen Donate a Pen initiative has provided over 15 million writing tools to underprivileged students. This year, they aim to achieve 1 million more donations by encouraging consumers to participate in the programme with each pen purchase.
Donations are distributed during the company’s annual roadshows held from March to June annually.
BIC’s broader commitment includes improving learning conditions for 250 million students globally by 2025.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
