- Ford donated R100 000 to Future Families in Pretoria, assists 100 impoverished families with food parcels in Mamelodi
- R100 000 donated to Al Fidaa Foundation, 100 food parcels distributed to Blue Village residents and feeding scheme in Nelson Mandela Bay
- Tribute to legacy of Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday, continues Ford’s wide range of community support and upliftment initiatives
PRETORIA, South Africa, 18 July 2018 – Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa joined the worldwide Mandela Day initiatives to celebrate Madiba’s centenary earlier this week by donating R100 000 worth of food parcels to 100 impoverished families in Pretoria, with a further R100 000 donation used to feed 100 destitute families in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Nelson Mandela inspired the world to make a difference in the lives of others, and we are proud to honour his legacy and 100th birthday this year by contributing to the well-being of the people that live in the communities in which we operate,” said Neale Hill, Managing Director, Ford Motor Company Sub-Saharan Africa Region.
“The donation of food parcels, worth R100 000 each for Pretoria and Port Elizabeth, forms part of our wide range of ongoing community support, empowerment and upliftment programmes that aim to create a better world. This includes our Ford Resource and Engagement Centre (FREC) near our Silverton Assembly Plant, and the expanded Ford Blue Village project coordinated by our team at the Struandale Engine Plant.”
Future Families, a registered non-profit organisation, was responsible for the distribution of the 100 food parcels to poor and impoverished families and households in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The organisation also runs the FREC to assist approximately 200 people from the surrounding community with skills development and job training each year.
The Al Fidaa Foundation supported the project in Nelson Mandela Bay, providing much-needed food relief to residents of the original Ford Blue Village in the informal settlement of Vastrap in Port Elizabeth, as well as the latest phase located in Uitenhage which, once completed, will include 30 houses that are used as transit homes until the residents receive formal houses from the municipality.
Food parcels were also delivered to the Al Fidaa Foundation’s 9-to-5 Feeding Centre in Kwazakhele, as well as individual poor or destitute families identified by the Ford Struandale Engine Plant Wellness Team.
Additionally, groceries, fruit and vegetables, as well as clothes donated by employees were delivered to Jeanny’s Soup Kitchen to support the exceptional work she does in the poor areas of Malabar and Helenvale in Port Elizabeth.