THE COMMUNITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Our members are privileged to be able to enjoy the beauty of the Western Cape in a very special way and we are able to get up close to the sights, sounds and smells of our mountain passes, rolling fields and coastal drives.
An integral element of each year’s tour is CapeMog’s contribution to worthy causes in the
communities through which we travel and a recognition of the threats to the surrounding
environment.
CapeMog makes a Difference- August 2023
CapeMogger Peter Pretorius, accompanied by members of Cape St Francis Rotary, visited the St Francis Hospice Kouga in Humansdorp and the Sea Vista Clinic in Cape St Francis on 8 August 2023 to hand over medical equipment purchased with a CapeMog donation. These funds were raised through a fun auction during CapeMog’s annual tour in November 2022. At the Morgan club’s request, the Rotary Club of Cape St Francis had undertaken to identify local charities that would materially benefit from the funds raised by CapeMog. Rotary did an excellent job in finding two very needy organisations which met CapeMog’s criteria for beneficiaries. The Rotarians do an enormous amount of work in assisting the underprivileged in their community and Peter was shown many of the projects in which Rotary are involved. He attended their bi-monthly meeting at which he provided some background to Morgan, the CapeMog club, its annual tour and how funds for donation are raised.
ST FRANCIS HOSPICE KOUGA, HUMANSDORP
The small staff complement based at the hospice offices in Humansdorp service the entire Kouga district, which covers most of the area from Kareedouw to Cape St Francis. They do not have a care facility or an in-patient unit where patients can be treated. All care is thus given to patients at their homes and this involves a great deal of travelling by the caregivers. All the hospice funds are derived from donations. Sister Ingrid from St Francis Hospice Kouga thanked the CapeMog Car Club for their generous onation of much needed equipment. “Our goals are to relieve the physical, pain, mental, emotional and spiritual suffering of patients and those that care for them; and to promote the dignity and independence of patients to the greatest extent possible and to allow them to die peacefully“.
Two sets of cot sides and two alternating pressure mattresses were donated. The cot sides can be adjusted to fit any normal bed and ensure that patients do not fall out of bed and injure themselves. The mattresses are used to prevent bedsores which are often extremely difficult to manage in a bedridden patient. “These items will make a huge difference in our patients’ lives, giving them relief and protection " says Sister Ingrid.
SEA VISTA CLINIC, CAPE ST FRANCIS
The clinic is in the township of Sea Vista and is totally inadequate for the growing community and the number of patients that they need to look after each day. The clinic also covers all the surrounding areas with a staff of only three nursing sisters. The local GP, Dr Jean Malan, volunteers at the clinic for a couple of hours a day. Dr Malan noted that the equipment donated will enable the sisters to check patients’ blood pressure and blood oxygen levels during home visits, which will be of great benefit to the community. St Francis Rotary have taken on a project to extend the clinic building to relieve congestion and to allow service levels to improve.
All the CapeMog members who participated in November 2022’s East n West Tour can feel very proud and take comfort in that their contributions at the auction have been put to very good use. Huge thanks to Alan and Ursula Cherry and to Peter Pretorius for organising the auction and for donating many of the items auctioned and a special acknowledgment to Alan for his superb effort as the auctioneer and in raising the bids.
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Reil Dancers in the Cedarberg- 2017 tour
• During the 2017 Eastern Cape tour, our members contributed most generously toward the Good Shepherd School in Grahamstown, and the Port Alfred Soup Kitchen that is totally reliant on donations.
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• In 2018 we supported the Camdeboo Hospice in Graaff-Reinet, a charity nominated by the Rubidge family from Wellwood Farm. In addition, thanks to the sales of our CapeMog calendar we were able to make a sizeable donation to Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital’s Project Blue, whose ambition is to stop South African men from dying of prostate cancer.
• Since the 2019 tour spent a great deal of time in the Breede River Valley, we were guided toward the Gelukshoop Primary School as a deservingcommunity project. The school is in Na-Die-Oes, a rural suburb of Bonnivale.
During our 2021 Tour, we supported “Net vir Pret” in Barrydale, whose mission it is to uplift children from disadvantaged backgrounds. They endeavour to empower children by giving them the childhood that they deserve, by allowing them to play and public be creative while learning. “Net vir Pret” was established in 2006 and is a registered public benefit organisation. on the lawns of our lunch venue the children entertained us on the drums, reel dancing and singing. They ended with the littlest one leading the famous Leonard Cohen number “Halleluiah”. The Club was pleased to make a substantial donation to their organisation.
