VWSA mobilises in fight against the coronavirus
In a bid to alleviate the negative impact of Covid-19 on the communities of Nelson Mandela Bay, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has made various donations in support of schools and NGOs in the metro.
Through the Volkswagen Community Trust, the company handed over a total of R340,000 on Friday to Masifunde, United Through Sport, Ubomi Obutsha Centre and the Thand’usana Babies Centre.
These donations will be used by the various organisations to supply food and vouchers to about 350 needy families, as well as funding the care of abandoned babies at Thand’usana.
In addition to this support, the Community Trust also handed over 50,000 meals to Mngcunube Primary School, Noninzi Luzipho Primary School, Ntlemeza Primary School, Vuba Primary School and James Ntungwana Primary School.
The Community Trust has worked closely with these KwaNobuhle schools in the past in establishing literacy centres at the schools.
The meals, which were packed by Rise Against Hunger, will be given to parents of Grade R pupils at these schools.
The schools also received 5,000 protective fabric face masks, which will be provided to the parents.
The masks were manufactured by Greater Uitenhage Sewing Co-operative (Gusco), a Uitenhage-based organisation that has partnered with VWSA during the Covid-19 crisis to manufacture thousands of fabric masks.
VWSA has also been working closely with government, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and other businesses to bolster medical care in the metro.
These efforts include a recent donation of 150 beds to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium’s isolation facility, the local manufacture of face masks in partnership with Gusco, and most notably the huge project of converting the company’s plant in Port Elizabeth into an overflow facility for Covid-19 patients.
VWSA chair and MD Thomas Schaefer said the company was part of the greater community of Nelson Mandela Bay and as such “the plight caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to our community is also our plight”.
“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, co-ordinated fight against Covid-19,” Schaefer said.