Go 12 July 2018

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July 12, 2018
Inspired by mom
to feed the poor
HERE TO HELP: At the CMR’s new satellite office in Parkside are, from left, social
workers Illse Page, Leonice Vrolik and chief social worker Lorraine Macdougall
Picture: SIVENATHI GOSA
Parkside CMR
office opens
SIPHOKAZI VUSO
INSPIRED by her mother's
drive to help others, Yolanda
Mtsaka, 28, of Scenery Park,
founded Buffalo City
CareGivers to ensure that the
homeless of East London
have something in their
st o m a c h s .
Mtsaka said her mother
would turn their home into a
sort of shelter where she
would welcome strangers and
feed them.
“I started feeding the
homeless five years ago. I
used to watch the way my
mother would treat the
homeless while I was still in
high school,” she said.
“She used to call a guy,
Andile, to fetch food and
clothes. I always asked her:
‘why do you care about this
dirty guy?’ as he would come
in and sit on our couches.
“My mother would look at
me and say ‘that dirty guy is
a man of God. He is the same
human being as you. He's got
fe e l i n g s ’.”
She said her mother
instilled in her the knowledge
that the homeless needed
love and tenderness just like
everyone else.
It was this teaching that
prompted her to buy bread
and butter every week to feed
the homeless when she
moved out.
Mtsaka said she was
introduced to Mandla
Gxumisa by her friend Ayanda
Mdlalo to seek assistance in
raising funds for the
o r g a n i s at i o n to expand it and
do more for the homeless.
“The goal is to not only to
feed the homeless but to also
try to find them shelter and
take them back to school and
create job opportunities for
them,” she said.
Mtsaka said they were
targeting homeless children
and adults in and outside
East London. The aim was to
reach out to other parts of the
Eastern Cape.
“We are doing what we can
in our community by donating
food, clothes, office materials
or resources and by providing
an open heart with more
hands.
“We're also open to people
who collect clothes and food
as this is one of the crucial
services that are in demand
for our drive,” Mtsaka said.
SIVENATHI GOSA
THE Christelike
Maatskaplike Raad
(CMR) has expanded its
services by opening a
new satellite office in
Pa r k s i d e .
CMR East London has
absorbed some of Child
We l fa r e ’s staff and will
take over its child
protection services in
Parkside, Pefferville,
Parkridge, Duncan
Village, Gompo and
Cambridge Township,
among other areas.
The GO! & Express
has reported (“S u f fe r
the children of Buffalo
Cit y” April 19) that Child
Welfare East London
(CWF) closed has down
due to lack of funds.
The CMR has now
taken over by
employing some of the
former CWF staff
members, taking over
the child protection
services within the
greater Buffalo City
area and using the
archives that were
stored by CWF South
Africa’s national office.
“We are open to
people from many
denominations although
our basic principles
state that we are
C h r i st i a n - b a s e d , ” chief
social worker Lorraine
Macdougall said.
Social worker Leonice
Vrolik said: “We
decided to move to
Parkside because we
found it difficult for our
clients to reach us in
Southernwood, as some
of them cannot afford
public transport.
“We want to be
visible within the
community, that is why
we are liaising with the
Pefferville Clinic and
other stakeholders.”
Macdougall said their
primary role was to
offer a space where
people could speak out
if they had concerns
about child abuse in
their communities, or if
anyone knew of a child
who was in an abusive
environment.
“We believe every
child deserves a safe
environment and a
loving family,”
Macdougall said.
Social worker Illse
Page said their Parkside
office was open on
Mondays from 10am
until midday.
“But the days will be
extended in the future.”
she said.
She encouraged
people to report any
cases to their office.
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DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY: The Dance Academy holiday club's showcase performance took place on
Tuesday night at the Arts Theatre Club where parents and children enjoyed a refreshing, fun filled
evening. Dancers from as young as six, showed off their steps through various dance styles such as
tap, Spanish and modern to name but a few. All these dance moves were learnt in just one week by
the participants Picture: AMANDA NANO
Boost for health sector
as 1,000 nurses graduate
SIPHOKAZI VUSO
IN A major boost for the health
department, more than 1,000
nurses from Lilitha Nursing College
in East London graduated on
Wednesday and Thursday.
According to a statement by the
Department of Health, the
department has trained about 6,191
nurses – including the 1,098 who will
be graduating this week – to work in
health facilities across the province
since 2014.
Graduate Lona Mlonyeni, 24, who
said she had always been passionate
about helping people and set her
sights on becoming a nurse.
“It has been a wonderful journey
for me because I am passionate
about helping people through health
care. And it will be nice for the health
department to start hiring more
nurses because it is understaffed.
“Health care is very important and it
should be accessible,” Mlonyeni said.
Claudie Plaatjies said she came to
show support to her mother, Eva
Plaatjies, who was graduating on the
d ay.
Eastern Cape Health Spokesman
Lwandile Sicwetsha said the
graduates are going to be a major
boost to the department.
He said the investment in the
training of nurses was aimed at
strengthening and supporting
delivery of efficient health care
services across the province.
The 1,098 student nurses
graduated in various disciplines such
as Post Basic Diplomas: Specialist
Programmes (Orthopaedics, Critical
Care, Operating Theatre, Child
Nursing, Clinical Health Assessment
Treatment and Care, Ophthalmic
Nursing); Basic four-year Diplomas in
Nursing Science (General,
Community, Psychiatry); and
Midwifery Diplomas in General
Nursing.