Volkswagen donated R2 million to 11 deserving charities and non-profit organisations. The charities include The Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre, Oosterland Child and Youth Care Centre, Missionvale Care Centre, Yokhuselo Haven, Thand’usana (Love a Baby): Babies Safe Home, St. Francis Hospice Nelson Mandela Bay, SOS Children’s Village, The Extended Hand, Uitenhage Mental Health Society, Ntlemeza Primary School and SAMREC received donations from Volkswagen.
This money will allow these charities and non-profit organisations to continue uplifting, upskilling and caring for the disadvantage and displaced citizens of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. The work of these charities mirrors the Volkswagen for Good initiative which has a strong focus on positively impacting education, youth development, enterprise development, health, community and wellbeing.
“Volkswagen believes strongly in caring for others. These organisations work hard to care and uplift our citizens, so being able to lift a little of their financial burden is the right thing to do. I am proud that as a company we are able to assist them so that they can continue to help the communities in which they operate,” said Thomas Schaefer, Chairman and Managing Director: Volkswagen Group South Africa.
Please see below a little about each charity and how they give back:
The Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre: This centre offers training to socially and displaced vulnerable youth between the ages of 18-25 from children’s home. Training is offered in various disciplines such as hairdressing, woodwork, upholstery, hospitality, computer training and life skills.
Oosterland Child and Youth Care Centre: This is a child and youth residential care centre in Despatch which takes care of 106 vulnerable and destitute children placed by the children’s court. Oosterland provides bursaries to the children for their studies and short courses.
Missionvale Care Centre: This centre has been in existence for 27 years. The Missionvale Care Centre operates in the extremely poor informal shack-land township of Missionvale in Port Elizabeth and provides love and care for the poor and destitute, with particular emphasis on those living with HIV/AIDS.
Yokhuselo Haven: The haven was established in 1998 due to appalling statistics in domestic/family abuse in Eastern Cape. It is a shelter which assists women and their children facing various traumatic experiences.
Thand’usana (Love a Baby): This is a baby safe home which opened in October 2008. It cares for abandoned, abused or neglected infants between ages of birth and 3 years. The centre can care for 6 children at a time until a more permanent placement can be found, sometimes with extended family, foster care or adoption. They provide comprehensive emotional, social, spiritual and medical care for the babies.
St. Francis Hospice Nelson Mandela Bay: Established in 1986 as a faith based Palliative care hospice, it provides a holistic service of Palliative Care to short life expectancy patients. It fills the gap in terminal service care and offers medical and nursing care and psycho-social support to patients.
SOS Children’s Village: The Village was established in SA in 1992. It offers a high-quality education from nursery to secondary level, followed by vocational training and support for young adults as they prepare for independence
The Extended Hand: This organisation works in the area of Rocklands and provides soup and bread for kids once a week. It also facilitates life skills training such as responsibility, trustworthiness, integrity and honesty. They work together with 3 schools in the area. The Extended Hand facilitates reading classes in Rosedale during the week too.
Uitenhage Mental Health Society: This non-profit organisation has been open since 2001 and currently operates four residential facilities/homes, based in Uitenhage. They care for 72 adults with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities and provide residential care, proper nourishment, stimulation and rehabilitation services to these residents.
SAMREC: SAMREC is Port Elizabeth’s marine bird rehabilitation and education centre situated in the Cape Recife Nature Reserve. The centre’s purpose isn’t just to rescue and rehabilitate, but to also inform and educate the public through different programmes
Ntlemeza Primary School: Offers education, meals and a safe learning environment for children from a poor Uitenhage community. There are currently 350 children from Grade RR to Grade 7.
