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Ford's Global Week Of Caring

Sep 09, 2014 Ford, news

Ford's Global Week Of Caring

Ford's South Africa division recently was involved in a project that saw it convert several shipping containers into homes and a community kitchen facility for underprivileged communities in Nelson Mandela Bay. The initiative is part of the automaker's Global Week of Caring, which resulted in over 13,000 volunteers from Ford operations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America contributing around 81,000 hours of expertise and labour to improve their communities during the week.

 

The projects in Nelson Mandela Bay were spearheaded by Basil Raman, Production Manager at the Ford Struandale Engine Plant, and unveiled by Jeff Nemeth, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa  and government officials from the Department of Human Settlements.

 

The metal shipping containers will provide much needed housing to several households in the Vastrap informal settlement in Booysens Park, while the soup kitchen in Malabar has a capacity of serving 500 disadvantaged people a week. Staff of the Ford Struandale Engine Plant were responsible for the conversion of the containers into community-uplifting assets with a purpose of addressing social inequalities.

 


The company also is contributing R3,7 million to nonprofit agencies to purchase the tools, supplies and materials needed to complete many of the community service projects.

 

Ford volunteers are putting a special emphasis on projects that support and protect water resources, in keeping with the company’s corporate water strategy aimed at understanding and reducing water consumption at its global facilities and across its supply base.

 

Global projects with a water focus this year include:

 

  • Argentina: Install water pipes for rural communities
  • China: Clean up coastlines and rivers
  • Germany: Construct an irrigation system at an environmental education center
  • India: Set up water purifiers for schools
  • Indonesia: Upgrade a sanitation system and install a water pump and filter for a school

 

While the Ford Volunteer Corps is active throughout the year, Ford Global Week of Caring is the highlight of a year-round effort to flex the volunteer muscle of Ford employees, retirees and dealers to make a positive difference in the neighborhoods and communities where the company does business. 

 

 

 

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