Rak Media Group boosts anti-coronavirus campaign with SSP 20.3 million

Rak Media Group has injected more than SSP20.3 million in the fight against coronavirus as South Sudan ramps up public-private sectors collaboration to contain the killer disease that has grounded the economy and social activities in the country.

On Wednesday last week, a senior manager with Rak Media Group disclosed that that company had set aside SSP20,300,000 ($70,000) to fund a six-day coronavirus awareness campaign, besides donating a range of items to the government as part of its corporate social responsibility.

“As part of our commitment to giving back to society, over the time we have been actively taking part in CRS (corporate social responsibility) projects because as a group we believe our success directly connects with the community we operate in,” Business Solutions Manager Qassim Magambe told the press during the official launch of the six-day campaign at the company headquarters at Konyo Konyo in Juba.

Mr Magambe said the campaign against the novel coronavirus is essential because it is a collective responsibility of everyone in ensuring that the community in which their clients live is safe from the pandemic.

The awareness campaign programme, which will be expanded to cover other states, takes SSP5,800,000 ($20,000) of the allocated budget, while SSP14,500,000 ($50,000) will be appropriated for donations, which Mr Magambe said will be done on the sixth day of the awareness campaign.

“Today marks our first day of the Covid-19 Awareness Campaign that would last the next six days across South Sudan by use of our marketing-on-the-go 40-foot truck bearing Covid-19 messages, DJs and renowned artists from South Sudan. Thereafter, we will handover item donations to the Ministry of Health and the National High-Level Taskforce on Covid-19,” he told the press.

During the press conference, social distancing was strictly observed in line with the guidelines the ministry of health has spelt out to check the spread of the virus.

According Magambe, the donations by the company include approved face masks, hand sanitisers and food.

Rak Media Group also plans to disseminate Covid-19 messages and sell approved, affordable and reusable locally-made masks.

The media group faces serious challenges in going beyond Juba after the government extended inter-state travel ban and extended indefinitely the partial countrywide lockdown. However, there are plans for talks with the government for a permission to go beyond Juba because the campaign is a national exercise.

Davis Gitari, the Administration and Finance Manager, said there is a need for the company to liaise with the Ministry of Health to reach out to all the 10 states.

Rak Media Group was founded in 2009 as a printing firm before it diversified into multiple services like outdoor advertising, and marketing-on-the-go, among other services.