Celebrating World Smile Day with Lindt HELLO, Smile Foundation and Maps Maponyane.

On the 6th of October a group of enthusiastic instagrammers joined Maps Maponyane and Lindt HELLO on an #Instawalk where they were armed with Lindt Hello treats, exploring the beauty of Maboneng to make a difference in the lives of South African children who are born with treatable facial abnormalities.

Maps Maponyane and his Joburg crew

Maps and his team before they took on an #Instawalk

"Smile foundation is very close to my heart. I have done a lot of work with them....and there is nothing more reviving than seeing the kids who were not able to smile before smile for the very first time" - Maps Maponyane

For every picture that was uploaded on social media platforms using the #LindtHELLOSmile, Lindt donated R10 to the Smile Foundation. People were encouraged to enter the competition prior to the event. The instructions were as follows:

• Upload  picture either on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter of what makes you smile in your city using the hashtag #LindtHELLOSmile or
• Buy any Lindt HELLO products at any of Lindt boutique stores and Lindt will donate an additional of R2 towards the Smile Foundation.

The hashtag created a lot of positive impact on social media and made it to number three on the South African trends. Maps Maponyane  also known for his television personality made a very huge impact by taking time out of his crammed schedule to come and help us raise funds for the kids and create awareness for the Smile Foundation. Not only is he known for his good looks but his big heart and good work also.

The event turned out to be a huge success. Everyone had fun. All thanks to LindtSA for making it possible. 

Should you like to see more pictures taken on the day of the event, use the #LindtHELLOSmile.

SA celebrities and comedians stand- up for a good cause at the #FamousLastWords Gala Event.

On the 4th of October, Comedy Central challenged SA celebrities and local comedians to stand- up for charity at Emperors Palace- Theatre of Macellus were the #FamaousLastWords live- stand up special was hosted with 8 celebrities and 8 local comedians in support of Smile Foundation.

Smile foundation is a  South African non profit organisation committed to making a difference in the lives of South African children living with treatable facial abnormalities such as facial paralysis, cleft lip, cleft palate, craniofacial as well as the ear, nose, hand conditions and burn wounds. It is operates in eight different Government Academic Hospitals together with the Department of  Health. It also provides therapeutic sessions before and after the surgery for the patients.  

Everyone at #FamousLastWords gala event had a good time from Smile kids during the day to parents, Smile representatives as well as the celebrities later at night. Lots of fun, love and laughter was had, all for a good cause.

Some of the celebrities and comedians who took part at the #FamousLastWords Gala Event below including the Smile kids together with their parents. 

Smile Foundation kids

Robert Whitehead

@Kuliroberts

@Proverbmusic

@thatninahastie

@casperrasper

The #FamousLastWords  funniest moments will be aired on the 9th of October and for those who could not make it to the live shows. You can catch the highlights on comedy central on the 16 October 😊😊.

Dear 21 year old audacious self

You are bonny

You are burly

You are daring

You are devoted

You are dauntless

You have been criticized

You have been body shamed

You have been looked down upon

You have been laughed at because you failed

But you still conquered

Learn to put yourself first

Learn to create you own happiness

You are your own person

Learn to appreciate the little things you have

Learn to elevate yourself above your hardships

Worry less, because :

Happy moments await you

Don't try to fit in

Fitting in will never be your thing and that is just fine.

Just

Remain genuine to who you are !

M.E Lephoto

Inner thoughts

"Be yourself and know that's good enough " 

I'm no longer that young girl  I used to be. I have matured. I have grown. I am a woman now.  A phenomenal one. One who stands up for what she believes in !

Be your own person, like wake up every single day to impress yourself. Do you for you and inspire others who admire your character because if your life revolves around what people say or think about you, you will remain their prisoner. There are days in life where you feel like everything is falling apart , where being strong takes all the energy and skills you have and leave you so hopeless, worn out and frustrated that you end up thinking that it is the end of the world . When all the people who claimed to there for you are nowhere to be found. When your only hope seems not to care. Just kneel down and PRAY to release all the pain and bitterness in your heart after all you are a human being. You are allowed to express your feelings in any way, You're allowed to be broken and let God help you pick up the pieces.

I know this may sound as a cliche but it is the truth. People will always have something to say about you whether you do good or bad they will ALWAYS look for something negative to talk about. I remember back in the days while I was still in primary school, so skinny and all ,that almost all my pants had to be cut to fit me properly. So there was this guy who used to call me "mamtshetshe" and had no idea what that did to me. Even though I was getting A's in class, he never really cared about my good grades. This is a clear indication of what people always pay attention to(negative over positive). They are so good at labeling other individuals with small butts, big foreheads, big boobies etc and totally have no idea what that does them. Humans will leave you weak and have you questioning your existence hey...that's just how it is. The best thing you can ever do is to stay in your lane since there is no traffic .

Lives lost, Lesson learned,actions served#SayNoToXenophobia

Group of looters breaking into a foreign-store in 
Soweto

Xenophobia is an unreasonable dislike of people who come from other countries and are referred to as foreigners.The movement started in Soweto and took everyone by surprise. Xenophobic attacks were caused by some residents in Soweto who claimed that Somalians steal their local businesses and become rich from their own pockets. The movement became even worse after KingZwelithini's speech.The hashtag became very popular on social media platforms, especially on twitter. positive and negative responses were received.

.

Minister of sports and recreation; Fikile Mbalula
Minister of arts and culture: Nathi Mthetwa
wearing their tshirts to show solidarity

Positive results of the #SayNoToXenophobia

This hashtag created a lot of controversy through social media platforms like twitter and Facebook to be specific. It also allowed the hashtag to be word widely recognized. People got a chance to voice out their opinions. They got updated about the news as they were happening. To name but a few impacts that were created by the hashtag: South Africans took a stand by posting their pictures on instagram titled #WeAreOne, South African musical artists like Donald, Moneoa, Jabu Hlongwane and other musicians like Patoranking from Nigeria and many more took their time and collaborated to a song called "we are the world" to show our brothers and sisters from other countries that we are united. 

Music speaks volumes,when worlds leave you speechless !

The following video shows how public relations practitioners have brought the spirit of oneness to our attention  as to how working together can benefit us if we put our differences aside

The brutal attack of Emmanuel Sithole in Alexandra township

How the hashtag was disadvantaged from the use of social media:

The hashtag also had a negative impact as some of the people were slaughtered like animals while some some were burnt into ashes. what a slow painful death. Among them was  Emmanuel Sithole who was stabbed to death by Mthinta Bhengu and  Sifundi Mzimela from Alexandra township in Johannesburg on the 18 of April 2015. On his wrist, was found 3 armbands which read like this "united for bafana", this shows how much he loved this country. unfortunately he couldn't live long to embrace the beauty of it.

Brands that stoop up against xenophobic attacks:

The UJ executive against xenophobia

Brands like MTN radio awards , South African football association and premier soccer league as well as University of Johannesburg stood up against xenophobic attacks to show solidarity by doing so they created positive PR  and awareness for the organisation as a whole.They reflected an internal emotional commitment to the brand as well as brand creation preference.

I think social media created awareness for almost everyone. With it, people were able to get get newsworthy information and it also allowed everyone to interact with who ever they want at any time of the day throughout the world.

All Lives Matter #BlackLivesMatter

Black lives matter is a state movement in which black people are seen as 'nobody"to white supremacy. many people were involved in the movement fighting for black liberation and equality. The #BlackLivesMatter became a huge success, I mean from the streets to social media and so on. The use of hashtags benefited people a lot, since they were getting updates straight to their phones instead of buying news papers and listening to radio all the time. Even with the use of social media there were things that worked to the media's advantage and some did not.

Favorable deeds that benefited the #BlackLivesMatter

American drama series called empire  featured a scene based on black lives matter on its season 2 series to show unity and harmony. Just to add on that Beyonce who happens to be everyone's fan also performed her new single "formation" at the super bowl.The song is basically about black women resisting to state violence and has people who make a black power salute sign at the end of the music video as an indication of support towards the black lives matter movement. The designers, artists and cultural workers offered their love and labor to expand the #BlackLivesMatter beyond a social media hashtag that also worked in their favor to build a brand positioning through associative imagery.

Upsetting moments                                                                                          

The were too many people who were exposed to violence. They   were murdered, kicked and insulted. Tryvon Martin is one of the people who was shoot dead during the black lives matter movement at his father's house. Some ended up in jail 
 like Marissa Johnson who is one of the people who joined the activists that established black lives matter movement.


Advantages of brands for reacting to the state movement

Brands like Apen took their time to support the movement and gained brand awareness for themselves.Google also donated 500, 000 to black lives matter and gained fabricated positive PR and go as corporate friendliness that advances great relations with customers not to forget the billboards from Davis Insurance Agency (DIA) who's aim was to also show solidarity to the movement. 

As a public relations practitioner I believe that social media makes life easy for everyone. It is an extraordinary source of information that unites individuals, furthermore it empowers them to fulfill certain goals.

You can't go back and change the past, but you're determined to change the future,
let's unite against racism, sexism and brutality
OneLove !
photo creds: Faith Mathole