"This year, more than ever, we were reflecting on and celebrating Madiba's vision. He has taught us all to look beyond ourselves and give back to those in need. As such we spent our 67 minutes with the children at the Viva Foundation, a charity close to our hearts," said FMCSA president and CEO, Jeff Nemeth.
FMCSA employees descended on the Viva Foundation for a day of fun-filled activities with the children of the foundation. Activities such as face painting ensured the children were entertained throughout the day.
The Viva Foundation is a non-profit organisation that strives to transform informal settlements into stable and economically viable communities. The Viva Foundation established the Viva Village in Mamelodi East's Alaska Informal Settlement, where it provides pre-school facilities; a special needs programme for children, literacy, art and after-school care programmes for children. It also runs a feeding scheme that provides more than 3500 meals to underprivileged families monthly.
"We rely upon the goodness of people, the public, and private sector companies in order to provide the services upon which we founded the Viva Foundation. Ford has been an on-going supporter of the Viva Foundation and once again they were eager to support the children by coming out to the Foundation in celebration of Mandela Day," the chairman of the Viva Foundation, Leon Kriel commented.
FMCSA has supported the Viva Foundation for the past three years and last year donated a Ford Ranger to the foundation. The Mamelodi community is home to many of FMCSA's employees and is thus an important focus area for the company.
"It was a privilege to spend Mandela Day with the children from the Viva Foundation," added Nemeth. "While these initiatives are a small gesture on our part it is a day the children relish. We are proud to be associated with exceptional work performed by the Viva Foundation and look forward to many more days such as these."
