Three Nelson Mandela Bay Rotary Clubs, assisted by Rotary International, have invested in Nelson Mandela Bay once again, ably assisted by Rotary International, who matched finances raised by local Rotarians, enabling the Maranatha Children’s Home to purchase a Toyota Quantum.
Last year Dr Trudie and Mr Albie Basson expressed to Rotary the need for reliable transport to get children to and from school every day. ” Last year we were using an aging vehicle fleet to do numerous trips to get children from the centre to their schools and extra mural activities. This was uneconomical in terms of both time and financial resources. A reliable multi-seater vehicle was required desperately.”
Maranatha Children’s Home offers a place of safety to 34 street children out of the dangers of begging, traffic, trafficking and drugs. Their stated vision is to create opportunities for children and to restore their broken lives and give them hope for the future.
Three Rotary Clubs (PE West, Port Elizabeth, and Algoa Bay) joined forces to leverage the power of Rotary to support this effective local charity. The Ann’s (partners of Rotarians) assisted with fundraising and networking. And two USA Rotary Clubs (North Sacramento, and Granite Bay) also contributed significantly.
One of the pillars of Rotary International is “education”. Therefore, this project that encourages effective use of resources to enable education to take place was within the ambit of Rotary’s focal points.
Having raised a significant amount of money locally and with the assistance of Thomson Bros Trading in Port Elizabeth, the Rotary Club of Port Elizabeth West made application for a matching grant from Rotary International. This combined funding, with a some funds raised by Maranatha themselves was used to purchase a Toyota Quantum to fulfill their needs.
Angela Newton, president of the Rotary Club of PE West, stated; “The power of teamwork is evident in this grant. Rotary International’s success is based on teamwork, and having three clubs in Port Elizabeth join with Algoa Toyota, Thomson Bros and Maranatha Children’s Home is evidence that working together breeds success.”
This project bears testimony to the value of what Rotary and its Foundation can, and often does, achieve as a positive contribution to the needs of the community.
Left to right: Mel Smethurst (Rotary Club of PE West), Andrew Binning (Rotary Club of PE), Wendy Thomson (Thomson Bros), Dr Trudie and Albie Basson (Founding members of Maranatha), Lindsey Kobus (Rotary Anns of Algoa Bay), Dr Ross Kobus (Rotary Club of Algoa Bay), and Vatiswa Gilivane (Board member of Maranatha).
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