In light of the national pandemic that we are faced with, Thato Ramogale – radio presenter at Boston Radio came up with the idea of starting the #ClippaForChange (‘clippa’ being a R 100 note) campaign, aimed at helping street vendors. Without fail, every industry sector has, been affected by the government’s measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. For the street vendors throughout South Africa, this meant not being able to sell their supplies, meaning that they won’t be making an income until further notice. Together with Tebogo Makola, Thato decided to come up with this initiative which will focus mainly on women and mothers who are street vendors as they have families to feed and are the ones that are mostly affected during this time. In their own capacity, Thatho and Tebogo managed to reach out and put together a team of young individuals from dedicated to making a difference, not just in South Africa but in Zimbabwe as well.
The campaign will officially begin after President Cyril Ramaphosa declares a final ruling on the duration of the National lockdown. Each participant of the campaign will donate R 100 to a street vendor, take a picture/video and with the street vendors’ permission, share it on social media challenging three other people to do the same. The aim is not to exploit the street vendors but to create awareness of the campaign and to get more people involved. The campaign is specifically targeted at ordinary individuals and not companies as the goal is to show that anyone can contribute towards helping the next person. R 100 might not seem like a lot, but it can go a long way in making a difference in someone else’s life and that is what we want to promote with this campaign, because together we can. The aim is to plant a seed of difference one by one and to eventually create a beautiful garden of change.
The campaign will be an ongoing thing, where people are constantly encouraged to lend a helping hand, with the little that they have. So far, there are a lot of individuals that are part of and interested in becoming part of this movement. With the continued support, things can only get better from here. With determination and the right intentions, this campaign can be something that is done not just in South Africa and Zimbabwe but in other countries as well.
