The Missionvale Care Centre, under the eye of former Citizen of the Year, Sister Ethel, provides a wide range of support to one of the poorest areas of Port Elizabeth with high levels of unemployment. The roads around the mission can only be described as very poor farm roads and can be hell (sorry for the word, Sister!) on any vehicle.
Recently the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) donated a Ranger pick-up to the Missionvale Care Centre in Port Elizabeth to assist with its wide range of community upliftment projects.
Founded in 1988 by Sister Ethel Normoyle, the centre has expanded over the years to become a multi-functional facility that provides a wide range of services to the local residents, from schooling to education, nutrition and wellness.
“Missionvale Care Centre has become a beacon of hope and compassion for the local community, and Sister Ethel and her committed team have done an amazing job in supporting and improving the lives of the local community,” says Jeff Nemeth, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa.
“We are proud to be associated with the Missionvale Care Centre, and trust that the donation of the Ford Ranger single-cab pick-up will assist the centre in continuing and expanding its reach to those in need.”
FMCSA and the Ford Engine Plant in Struandale, Port Elizabeth, have been supporting the centre for several years through its various community upliftment projects.
Last year Ford handed over a cheque for R40 000 to Missionvale as part of its participation in the Blacktop Rally. This assisted the centre with its fund-raising efforts to build new classrooms for the expansion of the Missionvale Care Centre Academy into a fully-fledged primary school.
Aside from the school, the centre also provides a child support and development programme, an impressive clothing warehouse, community food gardens, church and community hall, a crafter’s unit to assist people in manufacturing goods and starting their own small business, as well as an adult skills development programme.
A comprehensive range of community health services are also provided, including an eye clinic, general practitioner’s unit, community health practitioners that provide home-based care and an all-important nutrition and wellness unit that feeds up to 1 000 people per day.
(from left to right): Mark Kaufman (FMCSA Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service), Jeff Nemeth (President and CEO, FMCSA), Linda van Oudheusden (Marketing Manager, Missionvale Care Centre), Russell Viljoen (Principal, Missionvale Care Centre Academy), Satya Banda (Plant Manager, Ford Struandale Engine Plant), Stephen Theodosiou (Director, Eastern Cape Motors)
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