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nelson mandela bay's family lifestyle
author:
xandre van der berg
last night of the proms in africa
photography:
zuko, lifegate photography
issue:
6, winter 2008
On 17 and 18 May 2008 St Francis Hospice hosted its wildly exciting Last Night of the Proms in Africa Concert, at the Feathermarket Centre in Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay. People Talk Magazine was there to share the excitement and get the inside information on what this organization does. The “PROMS” featured a massed choir and full Eastcape Philarmonic Orchestra under the baton of the ever charismatic Richard Cock. Bagpipers, African Dancers and the young award winning Gareth Witten, as soloist, completed this musical extravaganza. On the Saturday evening, the concert of rousing popular classics was followed by an exclusive Black Tie dinner of only the finest food and wines, including a wine auction by a top Cape Wine Master. This event is quite the highlight on the Nelson Mandela Bay social calendar and annually serves as the perfect vehicle for corporate entertainment or getting a table of friends together for a splendid evening on the town. Some of the corporate patrons at this years event included VW, Coca Cola, Life Healthcare, Investec and SpecSavers. Sponsors of this evening included the Gutsche Family who, through their sponsorship, commemorate the life of their beloved late father, Phillip Rowland Gutsche. Party Design, Alphaparm and Domestic Distributors were amongst the list of sponsors. The funds raised by this event are used towards the care of Hospice patients, people in our community who are nearing the end of an illness such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. The care of St Francis Hospice is available to all who need it, irrespective of payment, so fundraising initiatives such as this one are vital to sustainability. St Francis Hospice was formed in 1984 and originally dedicated itself to establishing a Hospice home based service, which would provide care and support for terminally ill patients and their families. In 1986, backed by tremendous generosity from the community, a dream became reality when the first in-patient facility was opened. Since then, St Francis Hospice has been able to offer patients a choice of where those all-important last weeks and days of a final illness will be spent. 1997 saw the establishment of rural outreach in the Kouga Area, when a branch of St Francis Hospice opened in Humansdorp, offering care to patients as far afield as Tsitsikamma. Outreach into Uitenhage and surrounding areas commenced in 1999. In a world that is drained by overwhelming need, we should not forget the efforts of a longstanding and sustainable service, such as St Francis Hospice, that has been serving the terminally ill of our community for almost 25 years.
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