Empower 5

The Empower 5 Challenge is an ambitious and inspiring initiative aimed at raising awareness about the challenges faced by teachers in South Africa who are in need of professional development. The goal of the challenge is to complete all 70.3 Half Ironman races across the African continent in 2024. This incredible physical feat serves as a symbolic representation of the endurance, resilience, and dedication required in the teaching profession.

The primary focus of the Empower 5 Challenge is to shed light on the importance of empowering teachers through continuous professional development. Recognizing the vital role teachers play in shaping the future, the initiative aims to create a platform where companies can actively participate in supporting teachers' growth and development.

The online platform after-school.co.za associated with the Empower 5 Challenge provides a unique opportunity for companies to sponsor teachers onto the platform, facilitating access to high-quality professional development resources. By supporting teachers in their ongoing learning journey, these companies contribute to building a more empowered and skilled teaching workforce, ultimately benefiting students and communities across South Africa.

Through strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and community engagement, the Empower 5 Challenge seeks to generate awareness, funds, and resources to address the professional development needs of teachers.

By combining physical endurance with a commitment to education, this initiative strives to make a lasting impact on the lives of teachers and, by extension, the quality of education in South Africa.

The Story

Hi, I am Scott Giles, a teacher by profession, with a goal to empower people, particularly teachers and students. I realised early on that to make a difference in South Africa's education system, I could add the most value by empowering teachers. This involves instilling in them my passion for technology in education and providing easy access to professional development opportunities.

Thanks to Co-Vid, I was compelled to take my businesses online, making them accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any device. After-school.co.za was born and instantly used to kickstart my dream of empowering every teacher in South Africa.

With over 60 SACE-accredited courses and more than 50 recorded webinars, teachers can find courses of interest and complete them at their own pace and in their own space. Currently, our focus is on technology and soft skills. In 2024, we will start creating subject content to support teachers in delivering lessons to millions of students in South Africa.

Last year, I decided to inspire my family and return to one of my passions - triathlon - and surprisingly performed well after a 15-year break. With the successes in 2023, I pondered on how I could challenge myself and symbolize the struggles teachers go through. That's when the idea of being the first person to complete all 6 half Ironman races on the African continent in one calendar year came to me.

And so, Challenge 5 was born. I challenge you or your company to sponsor 5 teachers for a year's access to our Teacher training platform, and in return, I will complete 6 Half Ironmans. There's no catch - a single sponsorship is R200 per teacher per calendar year access. You will be listed on the Wall of Fame, and throughout my year of racing, you will have marketing opportunities directly and indirectly tied to your contribution.

For companies that want to sponsor more teachers, our Gold Sponsors have the chance to get their branding on my race kit, bike, travelling kits, website, and social pages, to be a gold sponsor you would need to sponsor 250 or more teachers. We have had to limit this offer to 6 companies to maximize their branding on the above.

If this interests you, please reach out. Let's empower teachers and, in turn, empower our students and our country.