Umvoti Aids Centre receives 4X4 vehicle from Saab Grintek

Issued by Meropa Communications for Saab Grintek
Johannesburg, 14 Dec 2006

The Chairman of Saab Grintek, Zoli Kunene, handed over a sport utility vehicle (SUV) to the Umvoti Aids Centre in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal.

Ecstatic at receiving the Mahindra Scorpio from South Africa's leading defence and technology company, Saab Grintek, the head of the Umvoti Aids Centre, Teresa Edwards, said the vehicle will be used to further extend the centre's reach in the surrounding area.

"This donation comes at a time when children across KwaZulu-Natal continue to be orphaned by the epidemic," said Edwards.

The much-needed vehicle will be used for the centre's home-based care project. It will also be used to transport volunteers to the centre's monthly meetings, who currently travel an average of 8km per day on foot to provide their invaluable care.

"This SUV will open doors for us that were closed in the past or difficult to negotiate. It will also allow us to venture out and reach substantially more members of our community on a daily basis," said Edwards.

"We have already identified five more child-headed-households who were desperate for help. Now, through this donation we are able to step in and offer them hope and assistance."

Commenting at the handover ceremony, Kunene said: "It is through projects such as Umvoti Aids Centre, that these children are given the opportunity to continue their education, while at the same time being surrounded by the loving support of people who care. It was with this in mind that Saab Grintek decided to support this project."

The centre targets approximately 3 000 members of the community per month through the employment of 65 caregivers. Only 18 caregivers receive monthly stipend from the Aids Foundation and the Department of Social Welfare and Population Development. The rest of the caregivers operate on a voluntary basis. They will make use of the vehicles to pay visits to the HIV/AIDS patients, to inform them and their families on the grants and treatments in the area.

Saab

Saab is one of the world's leading high-technology companies, with its main operations focusing on defence, aviation and space. The group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capability in systems integration.

Saab Grintek

Grintek is a leading empowerment technology company and employs some 1 000 people, most of whom are engineers and technicians. The company is a privately held partnership between Saab AB (70.3%) of Sweden and Kunene Bros Holdings (29.7%). The group specialises in three main market segments, namely telecommunications and selected niche opportunities within industrial and defence electronics. Saab Grintek is a business unit of Saab.

Saab Grintek Technologies

Saab Grintek Technologies applies the group's core technologies in the ICT, transport and energy sectors through the development of its own products as well as partnerships and distribution agreements with world-class suppliers.

The division provides tailored and innovative solutions from initial project and business requirement consulting, through to implementation, integration, continuous support and training.

The company focuses on providing high end communications solutions in the following areas: transmission, voice, data, wireless, convergence services, antennas, RF components, DC power systems, pre-payment electricity meters, electric load management systems and a full range of professional avionics and aeronautical electronics.

The division's solutions have been implemented in over 500 top South African companies and in more than 22 African countries. Over 25 leading international vendors have selected Saab Grintek Technologies as a South African service provider and partner. Saab Grintek Technologies' head office and support centre is located in Centurion, Pretoria, and it has full regional support offices in Cape Town and Windhoek.

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