Team International and Goofy Gophers have had MiX Telematics tracking units fitted into their vehicles, which will enable a direct feed to a designated website. "As a result, supporters will be able to track the progress of both teams in real-time, 24 hours a day," says Charles Tasker, managing director of MiX Telematics. "The technology opens up a window for supporters who wish to engage with the teams throughout their journey; in turn, this will help to generate exposure and awareness about both the event and the charitable cause."
"This expedition is the perfect opportunity to not only support a worthy cause close to the heart of all South Africans, but also to showcase mapIT's unique abilities of mapping African terrain," says Etienne Louw, managing director of mapIT. "Our affiliation with the campaign will not end this year, but in 2013 we aim to track all teams taking part in the rally, which will allow supporters to follow their favourite teams," states Louw. The teams can be followed on the public-facing mapping site http://putfootrally.mapit.co.za/.
This year's rally comprises 60 teams, consisting of a total of 250 participants who will journey to Southern Africa's most unique landmarks in support of the Put Foot Foundation and Project Rhino. Each team pays for, or raises sponsorship, for their own crew's running costs. In addition, they canvass donations from individual and corporate bodies alike, which aid the two official charities. Donations to the charities are made through the www.GivenGain.com Internet portal.
The purpose of this rally is to create public awareness and raise funds for two official charities: The Put Foot Foundation, which provides leather school shoes for African children in struggling communities; and Project Rhino, an association of groups fighting rhino poaching in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This year, the Put Foot Foundation, a volunteer-based, public beneficiary organisation, aims to purchase and distribute between 600 and 1 000 pairs of leather school shoes to barefooted schoolchildren in impoverished African countries.
Follow Team International and Goofy Gophers on http://putfootrally.mapit.co.za/, keeping track of their progress from Johannesburg to the Fish River Canyon, Etosha Pan, Caprivi Strip, Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba, Lusaka, Lake Malawi, Vilankoulos, Inhambane, Maputo, and back to Johannesburg.
