Our Lady Flight Into Egypt ~ Mary is honoured as the Chief Patron of our Diocese of Port Elizabeth. In accordance with the official liturgical Pastoral Guide it is therefore elevated to a solemnity (big feast) for the local church and celebrated on the Sunday that occurs on 4th February or between the 4th and 10th February each year.
institutions
Please click on the links below to read more about the various institutions in the Diocese.
ASSUMPTION CLINIC & ASSUMPTION NUTRITION CENTRE
MISSIONVALE CARE CENTRE
ST. KIZITO'S PROGRAM FOR ORPHANS & VUNERABLE CHILDREN
assumption clinic & assumption nutrition centre
Assumption Clinic
Makana's Kop: 34 Hill St , Grahamstown 6140.
Tel: (046) 622 3012.
Assumption Nutrition Centre
34 Hill St, Grahamstown 6140
Tel: (046) 622 3012.
missionvale care centre
H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II visits Sr Ethel at Missionvale
P. O. Box 11053, Algoa Park 6005.
Tel 041-4647770 Fax041 464 6363
Email
Overview
The Missionvale Care Centre operates in the extremely poor informal shackland
township of Missionvale in Port Elizabeth, South Africa – part of
the wider nelson Mandela Metropole.
Purpose
To improve the life of the people of Missionvale, through love, consultation,
participation and self-development.
Missionvale Statistics
100 000 people with malnutrition, TB is rife. Unemployment levels 70%,
HIV/Aids infected people 60%
Management, Governance and Staff
Sister Ethel Normoyle LCM is the Founder and Director of the Care Centre
with a staff of a Manager and fourteen paid employees working in the various
operating units.
On a daily basis there is a large group of volunteers from the local community
who assist with various daily tasks and projects at the Centre.
The Missionvale Care Centre Trust, made up of volunteer Trustees from
the Nelson Mandela Metropole business community, provides financial support
and governance for the Care Centre.
The trust is registered in terms of South African Law as a Public Benefit
Organization and as a Non Profit Organization.
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MISSIONVALE CARE CENTRE
1988 Sister Ethel Normoyle, a member of the Little
Company of Mary Congregation came to Missionvale eager to share
the Gospel values of compassion and love with the poor.
1988 Mother Theresa visited the Care Centre
1989 Union of Jewish Women chose Sister Ethel as Woman of the Year
1990 Sister Ethel was chosen as Port Elizabeth’s Citizen of the
Year
1992 The first phase of the Care Centre was officially opened. This included
a fully equipped clinic, nutrition unit, and library and administration
offices.
1995 Opening of the two Pre-primary School classrooms
1995 Queen Elizabeth visited the Care Centre and in her Christmas message
to the Commonwealth, she paid tribute to the wonderful work that Sister
Ethel does at the Care Centre
1995 A start was made with the community gardens
1997 The opening of the community hall
2001 Sister Ethel received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of
Port Elizabeth
2002 The opening of Our Lady of the Wayside Church
2002 The opening of the Clothing Warehouse
2004 Sister Ethel was awarded two Paul Harris Fellowships by Rotary
2005 The opening of the four classroom Primary School Building by Mr.
Gerard Corr – Irish Ambassador
MISSIONVALE CENTRE TODAY
Our schools supply hope, education, care, nourishment and protected playgrounds for 160 of the children of Missionvale – many of whom are infected or affected by HIV/Aids.
Our Nutrition Centre cares for 600 heads of families daily who would otherwise go hungry – again most of whom are infected or affected by HIV/Aids. People bring recycling material in exchange for their daily nutrition.
The Self-Help projects – i.e. community garden and crafters and ABET classes, continue to develop, giving many of the residents of Missionvale a new sense of pride and the opportunity to better themselves.
A therapy program for HIV/Aids is in daily use to detox and stimulate the immune system of the patients, and this is supported by nutrition and vitamins.
Support groups are in place for those infected and affected by HIV/Aids
We make donations of medicines to assist the Municipal clinic.
Father Christmas brings gifts to about 5 000 children yearly
THE WAY FORWARD
We need your support please, as we build:
• a Skills Development Centre focusing
on teenagers and young adults
• a Resource and Support Centre for those suffering from HIV/Aids.
The Unit will supply a sanctuary for day patients in need of rest, hydration,
counseling and nutrition.
• We hope to take the love, compassion and support offered at the
Missionvale Care Centre, into the homes of the sick and the dying via
qualified home-based caregivers
We need R 4 million for this next phase of our development.
OUR CHILDREN ARE EAGLES, ONE DAY THEY WILL FLY
Our Children are the Future of our Land – Sr. Ethel
We can do no great things;
only small things with great love – Mother Theresa
Our primary focus areas are Education and Health
–
Missionvale Care Centre Blueprint for the Future
We need your financial assistance, your skills,
your time, prayers, hope and love, so that they might believe this of
themselves the future and their fellow human beings
MISSIONVALE CARE CENTRE STATISTICS 2005-2006
2005 |
2006 | PROJECT |
| 127 308 | 109 972 | I cup dried soup and half loaf of bread per heads of family. |
| 22 789 | 10 769 | Food parcels for families infected and affected by HIV/Aids. |
| 758 | 898 | Families who receive clothes parcels. |
| 4 890 | 6 050 | Number of Children who received presents from Fr. Christmas. |
| 55 | 55 | Children graduating from our Pre-primary school to Grade I. |
| 56 669 | 41 069 | Total Number of Patients seen at the Missionvale Clinic. |
BANK DETAILS
Missionvale Care Centre
Standard Bank
Newton Park Port Elizabeth
Account Nr. 080 364 152
Branch Code: 050017
SWIFT: S.B.Z.A. ZA JJ
Trust Registration No: TM 3518
PBO Reg No. 930005824
NPO No. 035-983-NPO
sT. KIZITO’S PROGRAM FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREn
During 2001 Bishop Coleman called together all stakeholders and interested parties in the Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth to discuss the problem of orphans and vulnerable children affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic in order to find a holistic solution to the ever increasing plight of these children. He requested the Sodality of St. Anne to collaborate with the diocese to set up centres of assistance in those parishes in which they had sodality branches. The diocese now supervises and assists in the administration of 12 branches in township and rural areas.
AIM OF ST. KIZITO’S / ST. ANNE’S PROGRAM
The aim of this program is to:
Offer basic assistance to orphans and vulnerable children,
such as meals five days per week.
Offer after school care in those centres where facilities are available,
e.g. to help with homework after school and allow smaller children to
play in a safe environment .
Assist with the purchase of school uniforms, clothing, bus or taxi fares
to school and school fees.
Assist children to obtain birth certificates, identity documents and social
grants where applicable, in collaboration with suitably qualified social
workers and to be able to take new children into the project to replace
any who started receiving grants.
Collaborate with Hospices in those centres which also offered hospice
care for children already invested with HIV/Aids.
Place children in foster care with parish families or members of the Sodality
of St. Anne.
Assist parishes with the available land to establish vegetable gardens
to supplement daily meals with fresh vegetables.
AREAS SERVED
The following areas are currently served by this project:
KWANOBUHLE: 160 children
DIMBAZA: 53 children
DUNCAN VILLAGE: 1500 children are fed at 7 feeding points. Vegetable garden
have been and are in the process of being established on church properties
in various areas of Mdantsane.
KWAZAKHELE: 220 children. A vegetable garden has been established on the
church property.
NEW BRIGHTON: 110 children.
PEFFERVILLE: 250 children. This project receives some help from the city
parishes and Catholic Women’s League in East London.
MDANTSANE: 118 children. Although under the St. Kizito’s program
this branch is cared for by volunteer women of the parishes not affiliated
to the Sodality of St. Anne.
PHUMLANI: 45 children
ZWIDE: A new centre has recently been opened for 20 children and is expected
to grow substantially once additional funding is made available.
KEISKAMMAHOEK: A new centre has also recently opened here for approximately
50 children.
PORT ALFRED: The Assumption Sisters with the help of the St. Vincent de
Paul Society distribute food parcels to children affected by HIV/Aids.
ASSISTANCE REQUESTED
Some funding is received through the Southern African Catholic Bishops’
Conference (SACBC) for certain aspects of the children’s welfare,
e.g. counseling, school uniforms, fees, etc. but much more is needed to
purchase food and clothing. If you are willing to assist please write
to diofund@telkomsa.net and
details will be forwarded to you.
Remember the Diocese in your will. Read more...