WeeklySA_AdminGESTURE: US company gives wings to the organisation through donation of a fleet of cars…
By Jacob Mawela
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) has developed wings in the form of wheels to bolster its countrywide community outreach work.
To the jubilation of its staff, the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa this week donated a fleet of 19 vehicles to the organisation committed to holding aloft Madiba’s name and work at its Saxonwold offices.
Mandela Day, which is honoured worldwide, is celebrated annually to honour and commemorate the life of former president Nelson Mandela, with people around the world, on July 18, volunteering 67 minutes of their time to do something positive for the benefit of their communities.
In South Africa, though, the country is urged to dedicate the whole month of July celebrating the icon’s commitment to social justice and equality for all.
The idea was inspired by Madiba. He challenged the leaders around the world to address injustices that continue to plague society.
His famous speech, on his 90th birthday, which was celebrated in London’s Hyde Park in 2008, Madiba said: “It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.”
The US motor company, which first came into existence in 1923 – and has exceeded its centenary anniversary birthday by two years in 2025 – its donation comes soon after the conclusion of the Mandela Month celebrations at the end of July.
The US-based company entered some 30 years ago into a deal to support the NMCF, “championing children’s rights and transforming lives throughout South Africa and the region”.
Along with the NMCF’s executives, CEO Dr Linda Ncube-Nkomo and trustee Mpho Makwana, the company’s Africa’s president, Neale Hill, said his organisation was making a gesture “to help build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams”.
The company then handed over four Transits, 13 Tourneos, and two locally assembled Rangers, which it described as a collaboration intended to support the NMCF’s health, safety, and operational programmes across the country.
The company also commemorated the fund’s three decades of championing children’s rights and transforming lives throughout South Africa and the region. The collaboration with the NMCF includes support to fund operational needs which incorporates its fieldwork, mobile services, and community outreach projects throughout the country.
The vehicles come with specialised modifications such as mobile clinics, mobile workshops, and delivery facilities, designed to help the NMCF to deliver services more effectively, and to reach communities in varying parts of the country with greater ease and impact.
The Nelson Mandela fund’s CEO, Ncube-Nkomo, said: “We are excited about the collaboration with Ford. The vehicles will enable us to reach the remote parts of the country where most vulnerable children are likely to be found.
“It is collaborations like these with the private sectors that will enable us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families from which they come.” The company representative Hill referred to the vehicles as “enablers” which would assist the NMCF to reach out to more communities more effectively, and with greater impact.
Expressing happiness that the two Rangers vehicles donated to the NMCF were build built at the Silverton assembly plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria, Hill said: “I believe the distinction between a good company and a great one is this: a good company delivers excellent products and services; a great one delivers excellent products and services and strives to make the world a better place.”
The words echo the enduring wisdom of Madiba, who reminded the world on his 90 th birthday: “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”
