South Africans join forces to support ‘Miss Albany’ after brand’s shortfall

After the brand featured in the viral photograph allegedly failed to compensate them, South Africans are coming together to support ‘Miss Albany’ and her family with generous donations and sponsorships.

SOUTH AFRICANS UNITE TO AID ‘MISS ALBANY’

In July 2023, a heartwarming photograph circulated widely across South Africa, captivating the nation’s attention. The picture, taken by aspiring photographer Lungisa Mjaji, portrayed a 3-year-old girl fondly referred to as ‘Miss Albany’ or the ‘Albany Bread Girl’.

The picture showed little Lethukukhanya Mjaji smiling brightly, embodying South Africa’s spirit of simplicity and resilience.

According to Sunday World, Tiger Brands reshared the beautiful image on its social media at the time. Still, they noted that this project was not a Tiger Brands initiated or commissioned project or campaign.

The brand clarified that neither Tiger Brands nor Albany used the photograph for advertising.

Lungisa mentioned that in a meeting with Tiger Brands, they mentioned that their policy didn’t match the images, and he accepted that the brand didn’t owe him anything.

However, he felt that a “token of appreciation, especially for the child,” would have been incredibly beneficial for the family.

The brand stated that his niece was a minor and this did not align with their policies.

After going viral last year, Umuziwabantu Municipality presented Lethukukhanya with a cheque worth R5,000, while Parmalat, in a heartwarming gesture, announced that they would send the little girl 100 litres of custard.

Lungisa’s creative talents also caught the attention of Xiaomi South Africa, securing him a sponsorship that included a brand new phone with an “excellent camera” for capturing those special behind-the-scenes moments.

According to Bona, a South African-based mysterious man, BI Phakathi donated R15 000 to the Albany bread girl.

BI Phakathi, renowned for his philanthropic efforts through the BI Phakathi Foundation, recently posted the iconic image of the young girl on his Facebook page.

In his caption, he encouraged others to show their support, pledging a personal donation of R10,000 if the post received 100,000 likes.

In a different post where he posted a video of the little girl and screenshots of the payment, he wrote in his caption,” BI Phakathi donated R15 000 to her; she will keep on smiling.”

In the video, the little girl says, “Thank you for the gift, Father Phakathi. May God bless you.”

GIFTS FOR MISS ALBANY BUT NO COMPENSATION

Lungisani Mjaji, the photographer, expressed frustration, alleging that brands frequently exploit creators who lack knowledge about the marketing industry for their benefit.

The photographer said they would notice a change if they were to check the Albany sales when the picture was trending compared to before.

Mjaji said he granted Albany a right to repost on their social media platforms because he had hopes that they would work with him.

Mjaji stated that Bokomo contacted him and pledged a year’s worth of their products but has yet to fulfil their promise by delivering any packages.

I’m just over brands and their empty promises. After that, Clover gave us milk to use with the Bokomo cereal. But to this day, we never received anything from Bokomo, and I’ve stopped enquiring.”

According to Sunday World, Bokoma stated that they had promised Mjaji a year’s supply of corn flakes. However, things changed when he requested financial support.

We reached out to the photographer solely to show appreciation for his artistic skill. And voluntarily, we offered the family a year’s supply of corn flakes. The photographer requested financial support relevant to the child’s education. Something which we were not able to consider.”