To improve the lives and welfare of local communities in need, Renault South Africa is sponsoring three vehicles, through its Renault Fleet arm, to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health. This is to assist the department with rolling out its Phila Ma campaign, of which the first lady, Thobeka Madiba Zuma is a patron and key messenger.

Literally translated Phila Ma means “be healthy woman” and when hearing about the campaign, Valerie Ratsoma, who is directly responsible for National Government Fleet at Renault Fleet says her first thought was: “How can we be of help?”

It was established that the campaign was in urgent need of vehicle sponsorship, which would be able to cope with the challenging road conditions encountered in many of the outlying regions which Phila Ma is serving.

The Renault Trafic 1.9 dCi D Panel and 1.6 8V Kangoo Express vans as well as the 1.6 Sandero Stepway hatchback were immediately identified as being the Renault vehicles most suited to the arduous task at hand and a “no strings attached” sponsorship deal has now been concluded.

Bongani E. Khanyile, KZN Health Provincial and Departmental Fleet Manager says, “Efficient and effective transport to support service delivery and enable the KwaZulu-Natal Health Provincial Department to provide quality health care is the backbone to the upliftment of the poorest in our society. We acknowledge the role and greatly appreciate the generous gesture by Renault Fleet, not only through their sponsorship of Phila Ma campaign, but also their ability to provide transport to our department in times of need. Undoubtedly Renault has subscribed to the philosophy of government and the private sector forging good partnerships to improve service delivery.”

The Phila Ma campaign seeks to create awareness of the importance of breast and cervical cancer screening and also to spread the message that early detection saves lives.

More than simply spreading the word however, Phila Ma is actively walking the talk by providing essential health screening services which have largely been lacking for women at community level. The campaign has adopted a woman-to-woman “Save a Sister!” approach that not only increases knowledge about cancers and their timely detection within these communities, but also explains how a responsible attitude and healthy lifestyle can save lives.

In addition to breast and cervical cancer screening procedures, services include HIV and TB testing and counselling, pregnancy screening, family planning and child health care advice, blood pressure and blood sugar screening and the referral, where necessary, to treatment programmes.