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2010
January - 3 Australian volunteers, organised by Missionvale Australia work voluntarily at the care centre
"Where the suburbs of Port Elizabeth peter out, the townships start. Shantytowns built of rusted tin and bits of wood cluster around a salt pan. This is Missionvale township, home to about 130,000 people, of whom a third are afflicted with HIV. Children-headed and grandparent-headed households are very common. One person in five has a job; the rest subsist on government grants. Yet in the middle of such poverty is a place of change and hope - Missionvale Care Centre, a compound that has grown from a single person under a tree to a clinic, school, new HIV centre, kitchen, clothing warehouse, communal gardens, carpentry unit and caregivers unit. Missionvale serves as the de facto centre of the community, and thousands of people pass through it daily. A diminutive Irish nun, Sister Ethel Normoyle, is at the heart of the centre. 22 years ago, she wandered into the township and was shocked at the want and need here. She tended to the needs of the people she met, and Missionvale Care Centre grew from there. It's an inspiration to see what a single person can achieve, through sheer grit, perseverance and tenderness"
2009
- Presentations given to various individuals and groups in Melbourne, Warrnambool, Brisbane and the Blue Mountains
- Sydney women start knitting jumpers for the orphaned and vulnerable children - over 100 jumpers are given to children on a bitterly cold day in August
2008
Presentations given to various individuals and groups in Sydney
2007
First transfer of donations made to the Care Centre on 21/3/2007
2006
- November - Missionvale Australia establied and the first donations are received on 15/11/2006
- September - APHEDA agree to a coalition with Missionvale Australia. Apheda will collect all donations, provide tax deduction notices and audit the Care Centre as per Australian Government regulations for overseas donations. APHEDA receive 5% of donations for admin - 95% will be sent quarterly to the care centre
2005
Sister Ethel visits Sydney and asks a group of Sydney women for help to give the Missionvale Care Centre a sustainable future |
