In an effort to alleviate the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on communities in Nelson Mandela Bay, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has made several donations to schools and NGOs to help.
Through the Volkswagen Community Trust, the company donated a total of R340,000 to organisations Masifunde, United Through Sport, Ubomi Obutsha Centre and the Thand’usana Babies Centre at the end of May.The donations will be used to supply food and vouchers to about 350 needy families, as well as funding to care for abandoned babies at Thand’usana.
VWSA has also been working with the government, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and other businesses to help support medical care in the city. Efforts include a donation of 150 beds to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium’s isolation facility and the huge project of converting the company’s plant in Port Elizabeth into an overflow facility for Covid-19 patients.
The Community Trust provided 50,000 meals to Mngcunube Primary School, Noninzi Luzipho Primary, Ntlemeza Primary, Vuba Primary and James Ntungwana Primary, all in KwaNovuhle. In the past, The Community Trust has worked closely with these schools by establishing literacy centres at the schools. Meals packed by Rise Against Hunger were given to the parents of Grade R pupils at these schools.
The schools also received 5,000 face masks to be provided to the parents of pupils. The masks were manufactured by the Greater Uitenhage Sewing Cooperative (Gusco), a Uitenhage organisation that partnered with VWSA during the crisis to manufacture thousands of fabric masks.
“VWSA is part of the greater community of Nelson Mandela Bay. We have a responsibility to help our community where we can, whether it is through feeding hungry families or strengthening the medical care available in the metro. It is a responsibility that we have taken to heart, and we remain committed to the continuous, coordinated fight against Covid-19,” said Thomas Schaefer, VWSA chairman and MD.
