Nemato Foundation honours retiring board member
The Nemato Foundation held its annual get-together at Guido’s restaurant on Sunday and also honoured board member Gunther Johannsen, on his retirement.
Born in Germany, Johannsen moved to SA with his parents in 1951. He retired in 2000 after selling his computer software company, and went on to join Nemato Foundation SA as a board member and treasurer.
Nemato Foundation is a nonprofit organisation sponsored by donors in the Netherlands, which supports worthy projects in Ndlambe.
The NPO recently opened two karate schools in Ndlambe, one in Alexandria and the other in Station Hill, under the name, Nemato Foundation Karate Academy.
The academy offers self-defence and fitness training lessons for children aged four and up.
Dojo instructor Clive Naidoo and participants aged 14 to 16 years recently went to Gqeberha where they undertook their grading and all received orange belts.
Nemato Foundation also runs a Cricket Academy at Nomzamo Secondary School which caters for all the locals.
The young cricketers are coached by Thanduxolo Shotana, who always brings much enthusiasm in training.
Shotana’s passion led to him proposing to start a soccer academy for children aged 11 to 17 years, which will also be run at Nomzamo Secondary School and the Nemato Foundation will sponsor the equipment and the kit needed.
In addition to enhancing sport in the township, the Nemato Foundation supports the Happy Homes – formerly Child Welfare foster homes – in Bathurst and Port Alfred. It also supports the Port Alfred Soup Kitchen and Ingubo Children’s Haven by delivering food parcels on a monthly basis.
The Port Alfred Soup Kitchen now supplies 3,000 meals each week to those in need.
Nemato Foundation organises holiday camps twice a year for the children and caregivers of Happy Homes, and last weekend went to Boknes where the youngsters enjoyed lots of swimming, along with fun games and sports.
At the get-together, Nemato Foundation SA chairperson Ellen Fober expressed her gratitude for Johannsen’s work during the past eight years she worked with him.
“It is with sad hearts that we say farewell to Gunther Johannsen as treasurer on the board. He has been a tower of strength to the Nemato Foundation,” she said.